Cinderfella
by Coopereid
Summary: High School AU. Spencer Reid's life is far from perfect, and he knows it. In his spare time, he tutors his classmates online, and gets to know one of them very well. When he wants to meet, Spencer worries about what could possibly happen, but ultimately decides to meet him at the Halloween dance. How does it go, and will he finally get a well deserved happily ever after?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** I had so much fun working on The Breakfast Club and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days that I decided to do another Morgan/Reid story based on a movie I loved. The first one that came to mind was A Cinderella Story, so this is loosely based on the plot of it.

* * *

**Spencer**  
Spencer Reid's life was far from 'perfect', no matter what your standards for 'perfect' may be. His father had walked out on he and his mother when he was only ten years old, despite his mother begging to take Spencer with him. His father chose to leave him with a sick mother and never do so much as send a letter. Because of this, Spencer had to grow up incredibly fast: he'd work any job he could get so he could help his mother pay the bills or get groceries or buy himself clothes from the local thrift shops. There weren't many people in his life that he could truly trust or believe in, because he'd had one too many experiences with classmates faking genuity and pretending they liked him to either get something out of him or gain his trust just to bully him. The one person he could always depend on was his neighbor he'd grown up with, Jennifer Jareau, or JJ as she preferred to be called. JJ definitely had better options, considering she was the captain of the soccer team, but Spencer was glad that she was one person who never turned her back on him.

He was highly intelligent, and this constantly made him a target for bullying. He'd been given the option to skip several grades, but opted to skip one and stay where he 'belonged', as to not put a bigger target on his back. One thing he did do in his spare time was launch a website to tutor anyone in his school who was having trouble. He started out doing it for free, but when parents found out that a website was behind their children suddenly having good grades, they wanted to pay him to thank him. Not wanting to accept money, he'd set up a 'pay what you will' option, and this was what he'd call his 'official' job, though he still took odd jobs wherever he could get them both to fill his time and make money for the family.

One morning, there was a honking outside of his house. Spencer's head snapped up and he sighed, realizing he'd fallen asleep at his desk after typing up the notes for his, for lack of a better word, students. Last night, he'd done some dog walking, babysitting, and lawn work to make some money, then came home late to work on the notes. He ran a hand over his face and blinked a few times before reaching out for his phone, checking for messages and adjusting his glasses.

_Hey, Spence. I'm right outside. Are you going to grace the world with your presence today or what?_

He sighed, shaking his head.

_Just need to get dressed. I'll be down in five minutes._

He clicked the screen on his computer and saw a note from one of the students.

_Hey, Brainsof187 _(he really hated that he'd let JJ pick out his screen name) _Thanks again for all of your help. Mom's proud to see me getting A's in math again. I think all of that extra help has been making a difference. You're a life saver. - Blackhawk_

Anonymity had been one of Spencer's conditions for helping out his fellow students, both for his safety and their privacy. Nobody assumed it was him, mainly because everyone thought he was a technophobe and terrified of all technology, considering his flip phone in the smartphone age. One student in particular, Blackhawk, had been getting a lot of individual help, and lately, the two of them had gotten to talking on a more personal level. Talking to Blackhawk made him feel _normal_ for a change: he didn't talk to him like he was a genius, but just another human being, and that felt good.

He quickly typed his response, sending it off before getting dressed.

Spencer ran downstairs, walking to his mother's room and knocking on her door.

"Mom, I'm leaving for school. Do you need me to get anything on the way home?"

She groaned. "No, thank you, I have a lecture to prepare for this afternoon and shouldn't be disturbed."

He bit his lip, nodding. "I'll leave you to it." He picked up his backpack off of a chair in the living room, putting it on his shoulder. "I love you, Mom." He heard her soft snoring and shook his head, walking out to JJ's car and getting in.

"How's Mom doing this morning?" JJ asked, reaching over and fixing his hair.

"It's a bad day," he put plainly, buckling his seatbelt. "She has to prepare a lecture."

"Didn't she stop teaching last semester?"

He nodded. "Exactly. I'm going to take the bus home after school, I need to get home and get my tutoring done, then I have a private session with one of the students I'm tutoring, and _then_ I'm mowing Ms. Cavanaugh's lawn, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't wait for you to finish with student council."

"Are you sure you don't want a ride? I could drive you home and still make it back in plenty of time."

"I'm fine," he insisted.

She shrugged. "If you insist." She started the car, putting down the top and driving.

"Are you making anything from this private lesson?" she asked, turning to him.

"Eyes on the road," he reminded. "And yes. Another 'their parents found out and insist on paying me' situation."

"That's not so bad. You print up a few fliers, stick them around school, and you've got a pretty good business."

"Well, yeah. plus _everyone_ thinks it's a teacher behind it, so that saves me an ass kicking or two at school."

She frowned. "I thought that stopped."

"It never really _stops_," he pointed out. "It just temporarily pauses and then kicks back in."

"Do you need me to talk to people again?"

He quickly shook his head. "I can put up with it, really. It's nothing I haven't experienced plenty of times before." She opened her mouth again. "Focus on the road, JJ. I'm a nerd, believe me, I'm used to it."

"You're not a nerd-"

"The dictionary defines 'nerd' as 'a foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious.'. I live in my textbooks, I have little to no social skills, and I'm pretty low on the ladder. I've accepted it, and you should too."

She sighed. "But you shouldn't. You're smart and you've been working since you were _ten_ and you're graduating a year early to head off to college. That's not nerdy to me."

He smiled. "I appreciate the gesture, but I know I am, and I'm okay with it."

When they arrived at school, JJ pulled into her parking spot, parking and putting the top up.

"Are we still up for meeting for lunch today?" she asked, grabbing her backpack from the backseat and getting out.

He nodded. "I'll be there." He got out of the car, looking over at her. "...Does that skirt pass the fingertip test?"

"Spence!"

He put up his hands. "I don't want you in any trouble."

She rolled her eyes, putting her hands against her side and motioning toward her hand. "See? Past the fingertips, _Dad_."

He smiled to himself, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder. "Good." He saw JJ's best friend Emily walking over to the car and waved to her before walking inside.

Emily looked after him, eyebrows raised. "Jesus, you've known him how long and you can't influence his wardrobe just a little bit? I know you love thrifting as much as the next girl but come _on_."

JJ shrugged, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's his choice. I keep trying to introduce him to the color purple, or any color that isn't found on a college professor, but he doesn't listen. I think I'll have to tag along on the next trip."

"Please do and save his poor soul? He's too small to face anymore ridicule. I'll even _pay_ if need be. Mom's credit card won't mind."

She smiled. "We'll see."

* * *

**Derek**

Derek Morgan parked his car in the school lot, getting out and grabbing his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. He looked around the lot and realized that several people were staring at him. It was something he should be used to by now, considering his popularity, but it never quite felt right. When he lost his dad, he stuck to himself and never really made it a mission in life to make himself known. Before high school, he'd been the exact opposite of popular: he was small, scrawny, and would get his ass handed to him every day. Luckily for him, he hit a growth spurt and started going to the gym, which resulted in him being over 6 feet and muscular, and not a day went by where he wasn't thankful for that miracle. With his new body, he'd decided to get into sports to maintain it, and it turned out he had a natural knack for them. He quickly became a valued member of the team and gained captain status in nearly everything he tried.

Unfortunately, with the athletics came a need to keep his grades up to stay on the teams. He was fine in most subjects, but math had always kicked his ass, and when it would bring him down, he'd end up in a downward spiral in all of his schoolwork. Unlike athletics, academics never came easy to him, and he'd tried all of the methods to keep his grades up, except for cheating. He knew his mother would smack him into next week if she found out that her son was a cheater.

Someone above, probably his father, was looking out for him, because when he was about to give up and quit the teams, he saw a neon flyer hanging in the hallway advertising homework help after school on a website. All he had to do was create an alias, take the step-by-step lessons that made everything clear, and when necessary, ask the instructor for some help. When things would get too stressful for him, he'd message the instructor and get individual attention on the things that were troubling him. It turned out that his instructor, whoever it may be, was actually pretty interesting. There were some nights where, after the lessons, the two of them would just message each other back and forth for hours, losing track of time and talking about anything: sports, school, movies, music, you name it. The only downside was that the instructor cared about anonymity for the students and himself, so he didn't know who it could be.

An arm slung around his shoulder and he smiled, patting its owner's hand. "Hey, sweetness."

"Hey yourself, Baby Girl," he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "How's my princess doing today?"

She smirked, popping her bubblegum bubble and chewing. "Fantastic. You never texted me back last night. Are we still on for shopping after school?"

He clicked his tongue, exhaling.

"Oh, please don't tell me you forgot! I need my perfect Adonis there when I go shopping so I can try and make my asshat of an ex-boyfriend totally jealous with some killer new outfits."

He sighed. "I can always make time for you. Is Hotch in too or is it just me?"

She scoffed. "Yeah, like he can detach himself from Haley Brooks long enough to give us the time of day, let alone make plans with us." She patted his shoulder. "It's just you and me, cowboy."

He laughed to himself, walking toward the school with her. "I can't wait."

"Me either. I'm kind of the perfect beard, no? Adorable blonde with a great personality and amazing fashion sense, what more could you want in one?"

He reached over, cupping a hand over her mouth. "Excuse you."

She bit her lip before moving her hand, lowering her voice. "_Secret_ beard," she whispered, and he nodded.

"There we go. Shall we go to Physics and hate our lives for the next hour?"

She saluted him. "We shall."

* * *

**Spencer**

Spencer took a seat in his German class, waving slightly to Emily as he took out his notebook and set it on his desk. It was odd to have the seat next to her, considering the two of them had barely talked despite the fact that she was JJ's closest friend. Sometimes, he swore that JJ purposely told her to take that seat so she could keep an eye on him when she wasn't around. Whatever the case may be, he was somewhat relieved to have a familiar face who actually liked him in the classroom.

"Do anything fun this weekend?" Emily asked, twirling her pen between her fingers.

He thought to himself. "Mowed two lawns, helped my neighbor with some yardwork, had four private tutoring sessions, and did the grocery shopping."

She raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever heard of _relaxing_? It's what most of us do on weekends."

He shrugged slightly. "Relaxing doesn't help mom pay the bills."

"Good point." She motioned toward his notebook. "Seriously, I don't know why you bother. You retain all of this so easily."

"I don't know, even though I memorize it, I enjoy note taking."

She gave him a smile. "It's a good thing JJ warned me about you before we met."

He scoffed. "Gee, thanks. Why did you take German, anyway?"

"My mom worked in Germany for eight months a few years back. I figured why not have a refresher course instead of starting something new. Besides, coming into the school year a week late thanks to her assignment from the summer taking too long to wrap up, my options were German or French, and everyone knows all the idiot jocks take French because they think it'll turn girls on and make them drop their panties."

He scrunched up his nose. "Thanks."

She winked. "Anytime."

When their teacher walked in, she started putting up slides for notes they'd need. The way their class worked, they took their notes, and when they were completed, they'd work through exercises. She would walk around, tapping on the desks of the students who needed to write their notes down, and observing when everyone would finish. Because she knew Spencer was quick with his notes and absorbing the material, he usually had a sort of 'free pass' for talking in class.

Emily sighed to herself, looking up and writing. "Think I can borrow your notebook at lunch to be sure I got everything?"

He nodded. "No problem." He put the cap on his pen, setting it down. "What about you, anything fun this weekend?"

"Oh, you bet. I slept in, then JJ insisted on dragging me to some party the soccer team was having, where I only knew her so I was the awkward person following someone around all night. It was great."

He looked at her, curious. "Sarcasm?"

"You bet." She winked at him, smirking. "Then Sunday was spent in my room, listening to music." The teacher walked by and tapped her desk and she sighed. "Translation, Sonntag habe ich in meinem Zimmer verbracht, Musik hören." She glanced up at the teacher. "Acceptable?"

"Ja."

When the teacher went to the front of the class, she turned to Spencer. "One of few times it's actually going to help me in life to be fluent in German."

He laughed softly, shaking his head and taking out another notebook, flipping it open and writing.

"Don't tell me… lesson plan?"

He nodded. "I think there may be teacher-student confidentiality, but what I _can_ say is that I have one student who's working very hard to get their grades up, so I've been working with them more often."

"Their and them, not even a gender?"

He pointed his pen at her. "I told you. Confidentiality."

After they finished their class work, they had a few minutes left before the bell rang, so their teacher allowed them to talk quietly.

"So, JJ told me that Halloween is your favorite holiday," Emily said, putting her things into her backpack.

He nodded, adjusting his glasses and exhaling. "Yeah, but I'm working this year." He put out his hand, counting out the odd jobs he was doing. "Yardwork, tutoring, building a website for a start-up company, and then another tutoring session." He shrugged. "I can just hand out candy to the neighborhood kids while I get those done."

"You'll give up your favorite holiday to work? Hardly seems fair."

He looked up at her, lowering her voice. "In case you haven't noticed? My _life_ isn't fair. I'm constantly bullied and have little to no success in life. If JJ hadn't 'taken me under her wing', I'd be back to my head in toilets and my body in trash cans."

"...It was that bad?"

"Sometimes that bad. Sometimes worse." He shrugged it off. "I'm used to it."

"Well you shouldn't be."

He shrugged again, looking back at his notebook.

One of their classmates leaned on the desk in front of Emily, crossing his arms.

She eyed him. "Can I help you, Baker?"

"You're talking to Reid? Come on, Prentiss, you can do so much better than the spaz."

She scoffed. "What, like I could talk to you? I'll pass."

"Seriously, you've heard about his mom, haven't you?"

Spencer chewed on his cheek, clicking his pen a few times before brushing it off and writing.

"What about her?" she asked. "The fact that she's around, unlike your mom, who chose the booze over you and your sister? Or that she's got an alarmingly high IQ and raised a kid smart enough to skip grades and go to college early, while you're scraping at the bottom of the barrel? I could keep going. If you'd like."

"Excuse me?"

She smirked. "Lass mich in Ruhe und gehe mit dir selbst spielen." (Leave me alone and go play with yourself)

"...What?"

"Do your homework once in a while and you'll find out." The bell rang and she got up, putting her backpack over her shoulder and turning to Spencer. "Walk me to Chemistry?"

He nodded, putting his bag on and getting up, holding onto his notebook.

They walked out to the hallway, toward Emily's Chemistry class.

"Do you really need me to walk you to Chemistry?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, but I wanted to add insult to injury and show him that you have _much_ more of a chance than he does."

"Well, I appreciate it. Thank you." He smiled slightly before biting his lip. "About what he said, about my mom-"

She put up a hand. "Your family is your own business and nobody elses. I'm not digging into yours, so long as you promise not to dig into mine."

"I promise." He swallowed. "There's a lot of rumors going around about her and I try to neutralize them, but… there's only so much a person can do."

"Let them talk, it makes them feel like they're accomplished something." She turned into a doorway, eyeing him. "If you need to talk, text me or JJ? Don't do that thing you're famous for and crawl back into your shell."

"How do you know-"

"I can read people. Call it a gift. Now promise me."

He nodded, giving her a smile. "Enjoy Chemistry."

"You bet. It's like every day is an episode of some new reality show 'how bad are they going to fuck up?', between tests, assignments, answering questions in class, and experiments. Should be fun." She saluted him. "Until lunch."

He smiled, saluting her back. "See you then. I'll be off enjoying Physics."

"You mean Physics _Magic_?"

"I wish. The only 'magic' is going to be not injuring my classmates for their levels of stupidity." She laughed and he turned around, walking to his classroom.

At lunch, Spencer surveyed the cafeteria before finding JJ and Emily sitting down at a table together. He walked over, setting his tray down and taking off his backpack, setting it on the seat beside him.

"Good day so far?" JJ asked, picking up a chip and eating it.

He shrugged, putting his lesson plan notebook into his bag and checking his phone.

Emily eyed him and sighed. "You're not still hung up on that prick from German, are you?"

JJ looked between the two. "...What prick from German? What are we talking about?"

Spencer gave Emily a look and shook his head. "It was nothing."

She eyed Emily. "Was it nothing? Why was it worth bringing up?"

Emily put up her hands. "It's not my business and he seems to be doing fine. He texted me once during Chemistry, but that was just to send me a picture of one of the idiots in his class who 'accidentally' stabbed himself with a pencil." She turned to Spencer. "How did he manage that, anyway?"

"I don't even know. One minute, he's asleep and snoring in the seat next to me, the next he suddenly wakes up, has his pencil gripped, and seconds later, it's in his hand. And people say high school isn't interesting." He opened up the foil of his baked potato, cutting it open and putting in his toppings. "Now tell me why she's _your_ best friend but she watches _my_ every move?" he asked, looking at JJ.

She shrugged. "I can't control what she chooses to do."

"Besides, someone needs to be sure that you're not getting your ass kicked."

He mock laughed, mixing up his potato before taking a bite, turning to Emily. "Und du fragst dich, warum ich JJ vorziehe." (And you wonder why I prefer JJ)

JJ looked between them, confused, until Emily laughed and subtly scratched the side of her head with her middle finger.

Someone sat beside JJ, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Spencer looked up and realized it was Will, her boyfriend since freshman year. From what Spencer understood, he'd moved from somewhere in the south in the middle of freshman year with his dad, and after JJ had been put in charge of showing him the ropes of the school, he'd asked her out on a date, and the rest was history.

He leaned over, kissing her cheek. "Good day?"

She smiled, leaning into him. "Better now."

Emily made a gagging noise and JJ elbowed her, smirking.

"Did you come up with our costumes for the dance yet?"

JJ nodded. "Since you knocked down my Rocky Horror idea-"

"I was _not_ going to our school Halloween party in black lingerie and a wig."

She continued, as if uninterrupted. "Sock hop. Me in a polka-dotted skirt and accented top, you in your leather jacket, jeans, and a white t-shirt. It's perfect and we're sure to win the costume contest." She turned to Emily. "What about you, Morticia Addams?"

She mock laughed, shaking her head. "_No_. I'm going with Harley Quinn, only without the blonde and the face makeup extreme, because that would make me break out and require even _more_ makeup to cover."

JJ nodded, impressed. "What about you, Spence?"

He shrugged, opening up his juice. "What about me?"

"Your costume for the party on Saturday?"

"Oh!" He cleared his throat, leaning over and throwing his tray into the trash barrel before taking out his notebook. "I'm not going."

Her jaw dropped. "What do you mean you're not going?!"

"It's quite simple, really. Dances and things of the such are social events for those who are popular or want to be popular. I'm neither of those things. Not to mention that I barely want to be in the company of these people during the week. Why would I pursue being around them when I don't need to be? Plus I have several jobs set up for Saturday that don't involve possible awkward social situations."

JJ opened her mouth to respond but the bell rang and she sighed, eyeing him. "This isn't over."

"If you say so."

* * *

**Derek**

Derek sat in the back of his math class, looking up at the board and doing his best to take notes and understand the subject. When he would get confused, he starred beside the notes for that specific topic, as a note to himself to ask his tutor about it later.

Penelope set down her pink pen, turning to face him. "So, about the Halloween dance," she started, resting her head against her hand. "Are you opposed to couples costumes?"

"What on earth are you talking about?" he asked, keeping his focus on the board.

"You know, the Halloween dance… the one I've been planning for us to go to for the last _month_."

He sighed, clicking his mechanical pencil. "I don't know if I'm going. You know they're not really my thing."

"But boy, you've got _moves_," she told him, smirking, "and I'd like some of those moves to be shared with me."

He smiled slightly, starring his latest notes. "You're not going to let me say no, are you?"

"Definitely not happening. I've earned a night out in the kickass costume I made, and you're going to be on my arm when I have said night out."

He exhaled, looking up at the ceiling, before focusing on the board again. "If I pass the test on Friday, Mom said I can go out this weekend. If I fail, it's me on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watching Netflix."

"Then you'd better spend some extra time with your tutor, because I need some delicious milk chocolate arm candy."

He laughed to himself. "I'll see what I can do, sweetness."

* * *

During his free period, Derek took out his phone, texting his tutor.

_I really need a pass on this exam on Friday… any chance you can squeeze me in a couple more times before Friday_?

Spencer checked his phone, smiling. _I'm definitely available. When do you need me?_

Derek clicked his tongue, thinking. _I could do every day this week after dinner, so about 6:30, if you're not too busy?_

Spencer flipped through his planner, seeing that slot empty all week. _Consider it done. I'm available all night all week, so as late as you need me, I'll be there._

Derek breathed a sigh of relief. _You are seriously an absolute lifesaver. I was taking notes in class today and completely lost, you have a way of translating things from Math to English._

Spencer covered up his laugh, realizing he was in study hall. _It's always good to be fluent in multiple languages._

_I'm not so sure you can help me this time. This was like a new Math language._

_You're not hopeless. You can always pick up on it when I teach it, and I have faith you can do it._

He smiled. _That makes one of us. Thank you._

_You need just a little more self-confidence. You always seem to sell yourself short._

Derek looked around the library, wondering if he could find out who he was texting. Unfortunately, since it was study hall, pretty much everyone was on a cell phone hidden by a textbook or in their lap. _Do you think maybe we can talk tonight after the session? I get it if you're busy or whatever, but I could really use someone to talk to that doesn't care about high school politics._

Spencer raised an eyebrow, confused, before responding. _Sure thing. Everything ok?_

_Everything's fine. I just need one of our world-famous 'we're done studying, now let's have a deep discussion' moments._

Spencer smirked. _Well, consider it scheduled._

* * *

After dinner that night, Derek was sure to tell his mother and sisters not to bother him because he was working with his tutor. Once his sisters got in a few inappropriate comments, he rolled his eyes, picking up his backpack and going to his bedroom, closing the door. He took out his notebook and turned on his laptop. Clicking the link for the tutoring site, he logged in, waiting.

His tutor's name popped up a few minutes later. _I'm so sorry I'm late. I had to take care of my mother._

He smiled. _No sweat, is she doing okay?_

Spencer sighed. He didn't really open up to anyone about his mother, and the fact that he had to this person who is practically a complete stranger felt odd, yet right. _Yeah, she's sleeping now. What's the subject today?_

Derek flipped open his notebook to the page of notes from that day. _Okay, so, I know I'm in Math for Dummies essentially, so I'm sorry if this sounds stupid, but how the hell does one remember the quadratic formula?_

Spencer laughed softly. _You sink it into your brain by reading it about 50 times. _

_Well, it sucks._

Spencer bit down on his lip. _Well, the good news is, I can guarantee you that you will never need to use it after school is over. I've yet to hear a story of a man held at gunpoint who was saved by saying it._

Derek chuckled, shaking his head. _That's a relief!_

It was nearly a half hour later when Derek finally understood the concept and he apologized to Spencer profusely. _Okay, so: negative b plus or minus the square root of b squared minus 4 ac and all of that is over 2 times a?_

Spencer smirked, nodding. _You've got it. Now, if you could do problems 4-6 in the book with me, which I believe is the assigned homework, you're done with it for the night!_

_Well, then what am I waiting for? _

The two of them worked through the problems slowly, Spencer sure to let Derek go through it at his own pace. He noticed when he would get an answer right, he would accidentally slam on the Caps Lock key and basically yell at him until he noticed and turned it off, apologizing.

_Did you get that extra credit assignment we discussed?_

_If you mean did I pick it up, yes. If you mean do I understand it, not a chance._

Spencer eyed the clock in his room. _We have time. Let's go._

Once they finished all of Derek's math work, and Spencer verified he didn't need help with anything else, the two of them were able to talk.

_I'm sure your sisters enjoy the fact you're locking yourself in your room and ignoring them._

He scoffed. _Please, I'm not there to comment on their girl talk or jump to conclusions when they talk about boys. They love the fact I'm in my room and ignoring them._

_Have you been doing okay lately?_

He cleared his throat. _You ever have those days where you feel like you're here, but you don't really belong? Like you just sort of exist at school and people acknowledge you, but it's all odd?_

_Yeah, only every day of my life._

_It's a recent development, and I don't really know what to do. I'm kind of lost._

_If you'd like, I can draw you a map of the school… you'll find your way in no time._

Derek chuckled. _Very funny. But you know what I mean, right?_

_Probably better than everyone else. I've learned that it's easier to just go through the motions and make it through your days. And remember, there's less than a year left in high school, then we'll both be off to college. Maybe even, shocking I know, we'll meet before then._

_Well, maybe we can. Are you going to the Halloween dance?_

Spencer flexed his fingers, thinking of his response. _I have my friend trying to convince me to go, but I don't think I will. It's really not my thing._

_Yeah, it's not mine either, but my friend is refusing to take no for an answer, so I'm sort of stuck._

_Luckily, mine is just on a 'this isn't over' trip for now. Hopefully she'll get the hint that I really just don't want to go._

_Believe me, I feel your pain. What if I made a deal with you?_

..._I'm listening. Well, reading._

He smiled. _We could always meet up at the dance and spend some time, face-to-face, and when our friends inevitably go off and do whatever it is they do, we can talk?_

Spencer's hand stilled over his keys, staring at the screen. Getting to know one of his students on a personal level was one thing, but to actually meet up with them and spend time with them face-to-face was a completely different thing. On top of that, he'd been talking to Blackhawk since last school year, and they'd really bonded, so he already felt like he knew him. They e-mailed, they texted, they always talked for hours after tutoring, so it wasn't the fact that he wouldn't be comfortable. It was the fact that, in an odd way, he had some sort of feelings toward him.

_I'm not sure it's a good idea._

_Come on, live a little. We could goof on people together, enjoy some punch, do some people-watching…_

Spencer exhaled, chewing on his cheek. _I'll think about it, does that suffice?_

_It will for now._ Derek eyed the clock in his room, raising his eyebrows. _Do you realize it's past midnight and we've been talking for over five hours?_

_I do now. I suppose we should turn in. Same time tomorrow?_

_You bet. I have a test to pass if I want to see myself at this dance. I'll text you tomorrow._

_I'll be around._

Spencer logged out and sighed, shutting down his computer and putting his books into his bag, walking downstairs to check on his mother. After being sure she had taken her nighttime medications, he went upstairs, changed into his pajamas, and went to bed.

* * *

**Author's Note 2.0:** Thank you to user 10405Jana for correcting my Google Translated German!


	2. Chapter 2

**Spencer**

Over the course of the week, Spencer worked with Blackhawk every single night leading up to his test. When they'd get to talking, whether it was a text in the afternoon or after the lessons, Blackhawk would bring up dance, and Spencer would have to dismiss it. Every single time, though, Blackhawk would insist that he would be there and meet up with him. There was a part of Spencer that really wanted to do it, but then the other half told him that Blackhawk would only be disappointed upon finding out it was him, then laugh at him for thinking he had feelings for him.

After school on Friday, JJ didn't have student council, so she decided to invite Spencer over to her place to relax by the pool.

"I need to get home," Spencer insisted. "I could be working on a lesson plan or starting my work for the weekend, or helping my Mom out."

JJ put up her hand. "Your lesson plans will get done, you'll finish your work, and your mom is fine. Besides, we're right next door if she needs anything. You need to take some time for meditation, you know, clear your head."

He looked at her, curious. "Clear my head? How is that physically possible?"

"It's just an expression," she told him, putting on her sunscreen and lying back on one of the chairs. "Are you going to the dance tomorrow?"

He shook his head, fidgeting with the sleeves of his shirt. "No interest, really."

"Come on, Spence, seriously. We can go as a group: me, you, Will, Emily… or you and Emily could go together. I just don't want you sitting at home by yourself when you could be out having fun."

"You fail to see that my definition of 'having fun' is sitting home by myself."

She groaned. "Okay, so you have yardwork, tutoring, building a website, and more tutoring to do. Is there _any_ way you can do some of those today?"

He shrugged slightly. "I had both of the tutoring sessions reschedule until Sunday, which I guess had something to do with Mr. Frazier's Monday morning pop quizzes."

"The website?"

He stretched, lying back on the chair. "I just have a few finishing touches before it's perfect, and I was planning on doing it tonight."

Spencer's phone buzzed and he reached over on the table, picking it up and checking the message.

_Hey, 187, I got a 95 on that Math test today - it wouldn't been a perfect score, but I forgot to show my work on one problem. My bad. I don't think I've ever seen my Mom so happy. Thanks a million!_

Spencer smiled to himself, responding.

_You don't need to thank me, I didn't take the test. I'm proud of you._

"And what has us smiling?" JJ asked, lifting up her sunglasses and glancing over at him. "Does this have anything to do with _Blackhawk_?"

Spencer groaned. "I knew I never should've told you."

"Spence, I'm just kidding. I think it's sweet that you found someone you can talk to comfortably that isn't me. I just wish you knew who he was so I could personally thank him."

He scoffed. "No, thank you."

"So you know who he is and you're not telling me?"

He quickly shook his head. "Definitely not. He wants to meet up at the Halloween dance, but it's not going to happen. I prefer the anonymity and I really don't want to be someone getting into a teacher-student relationship."

She rolled her eyes. "Spence, you're both seniors in high school. It's a student-student relationship and it's nothing bad. It's two students who have gotten to know each other and it's actually kind of sweet. Now, give me a real good reason why you're not going to do this."

He thought to himself before getting up, pulling off his shirt and kicking off his shoes, eyeing the pool before jumping in.

"That doesn't mean you don't have to answer the question," she pointed out.

He pointed to his ears. "Sorry, can't hear you. Water."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "This isn't over."

He shrugged, flipping over to his back and starting the backstroke.

* * *

The next morning, he'd successfully done all of the yardwork early in the morning, which gave him the rest of his day to work out lesson plans for his future tutoring sessions. He was sitting on the couch, his legs tucked underneath himself, and several textbooks scattered on the living room table. Earlier in the day, he'd helped his mother with some of her lesson ideas and sat with her for a while as she read some Geoffrey Chaucer aloud. As of right now, she was 'not to be disturbed' as she was 'busy grading papers'. Unfortunately, that translated to her medication kicking in and her trying to sleeping the day away. Luckily though, earlier in the day he was able to get her signature on the checks to send in so he could pay their bills.

He was just about to finish his lesson plans through November when there was a knock on the door. He sighed, closing his notebooks and getting up, walking over and checking the peep hole. Seeing Emily and JJ standing there, he rolled his eyes, unlocking the door and opening it a crack, looking over at them. "Yes?"

JJ motioned toward her car. "Come on, we're going for a ride."

He looked at her, curious. "Excuse me?"

"You need a little break from being Spencer Reid the Super Genius, and we're here to provide that," she said. "Come on."

He eyed his mother's bedroom, chewing on his cheek. "JJ, I can't leave. You know that."

"Let me talk to her. She's comfortable with me, I can explain it and she'll understand." He started chewing on his cheek and she reached out, resting her hand on his arm. "She trusts me and she knows I have your best interest at heart. I understand. Please?"

Exhaling, he stepped aside, letting her inside.

She turned back to Emily. "This'll just be a minute if you want to wait in the car."

"I'd let you in," Spencer quickly said, "but my mother doesn't know or trust you, and on top of that, I haven't really had time to clean the house."

She shook her head. "No need to explain. I think I'm going to change all of JJ's presets and introduce her to something that isn't Top 40."

JJ scoffed. "I like Rock too," she defended.

"If Nickelback is real rock music, then I'm the pope, and I sure as fuck am not in the Vatican right now."

Spencer laughed to himself and watched as Emily walked back to the car and turned to JJ. "Are you sure?"

"I'm definitely sure that you need to get away from the neighborhood for a while, come on."

They walked down the hallway to his mother's room and Spencer knocked on the door softly. "Mom?"

"Come in, I'm just working on my lesson for Monday morning."

"Like mother like son," JJ mumbled, and he smiled to himself.

"JJ is with me, do you mind if she comes in?"

"Not at all."

Spencer walked in, JJ following close behind. "Hi, Mrs. Reid." She walked over, taking the seat beside her bed. "What are the students learning on Monday?"

"I'm _trying_ to get their simple minds to understand _Tristan and Iseult_, but unfortunately, I feel they can only comprehend the much more adolescent _Romeo and Juliet_. Fortunately there have been plenty of recordings, so if trying to teach it to them doesn't work, I can try some visual stimulation."

She smiled. "That's great. I can't wait for you to teach me a thing or two."

"You'd be an absolute delight compared to my students," she said, patting her hand, before returning to her work.

"I was actually wondering if I could ask you something?" JJ said softly.

"Of course."

She motioned toward Spencer. "I've been trying to teach him how to be a normal high school student for quite some time now, but you know him, he keeps burying himself in books and hiding behind his intelligence. I was thinking, if it's okay with you, that I could get him out of the house for a few hours and get him to have a little fun for a change?"

She looked up at Spencer. "I thought I told you to enjoy yourself."

"One can't be forced to enjoy themselves," Spencer defended.

She turned to JJ. "Do me the favor, but have him home by midnight. He needs his eight hours."

Spencer rolled his eyes as JJ smiled at Diana. "I promise. Thank you."

Spencer walked over, wrapping his arms around his mother and kissing her cheek. "I love you, Mom. If you need anything, just give me a call and I'll come right home."

"I'll try not to," she said, patting his arm. "Now go."

As they walked out to the car, Spencer sighed. "Okay, where are you taking me on this trip out of the house?" he asked.

She opened his door before walking around, getting in the car and locking the doors. "Out."

He raised an eyebrow, eyeing the doors. "Are you going to murder me and you're not giving me the chance to run away?"

"Not quite," she said, starting the car and going through her preset stations, eyeing Emily. "Did you have to make _every single one_ your Indie crap?"

"Not _every_ one. I left you your 'it's not really Rock but let's call it that' station."

She rolled her eyes, turning around to face Spencer. "Just trust me. I've never steered you wrong."

"Except for that time you had me try vodka. I'm still working on forgiving you for that one."

Shaking her head, she buckled her seatbelt, pulling out of the driveway.

When they pulled up in front of a costume shop, Spencer shook his head. "No, absolutely not. I can't believe you're trying this, and I can't believe you pulled Emily into it too. What did you tell her!?"

"She didn't tell me anything," Emily said, turning around to face him. "All I know is you metaphorically have a stick up the ass and need to let loose."

He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "JJ, I appreciate the effort and what you're trying to do, but I don't know how many times I need to tell you that I'm absolutely 100% not interested in social gatherings on my days _away_ from high school."

She nodded, clicking her tongue. "Uh huh. But what about Blackhawk?"

Emily's ears perked up. "Who's Blackhawk?"

"He's nobody," Spencer defended.

JJ turned to Emily. "He's the reason Spence gets all excited when he gets a new text message, and why he's always in a good mood, even after a late night tutoring session."

Emily raised her eyebrows. "He's the one who's been sending you those love notes."

He rolled his eyes. "They're hardly love notes. They're just texts and e-mails, showing his appreciation for all of the help I've been giving him."

"And he wants to meet him tonight at the dance," JJ pointed out. "Hence why I'm trying so hard."

Emily gasped, looking at Spencer. "Come on, you have to go. I get it, you don't like socializing and you hate being around the student body. Believe me, I hate all of them with a passion too, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to have a little fun. My philosophy? I'm not going to see any of these idiots after high school anyway, well, with the exception of you two." She dodged JJ reaching to flick her. "And if I want to have fun on a Saturday night, I'll let loose and do whatever I want. What are they going to do, judge me for the last six months I'm in their company? So what?"

"So I've faced enough exile and ridicule. I'd rather leave everything with Blackhawk digital, that way I can never be a disappointment."

"Or Blackhawk can be the _one_ and you're blowing a really good opportunity by not going," JJ said.

"One?" Spencer asked. "The one what?"

Emily shook her head. "The point JJ is trying to make very poorly is that you've earned the opportunity to meet this guy. If you don't get along, you live and learn. But if you do? It's kind of a great story to tell one day."

JJ reached back, patting his knee. "I just really want you to have the chance to meet him, Spence. You can't tell me that you're not even a little bit curious about him."

Spencer took a deep breath, sighing, looking down at his lap. JJ was absolutely right - he often wondered about Blackhawk. He wondered if he'd met him, what he looked like, if he ever bumped into him in the hallway when he tried reading and walking at the same time, or if Blackhawk knew him. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in meeting him and finding out who he was, and this dance seemed to be the perfect way to do it without it just being the two of them.

He eyed the two of them, chewing on his cheek. "I don't have a costume, and I just paid the bills. I don't have the money for one."

Emily opened her wallet, taking out a credit card and holding it up. "No, but mom does."

"Emily, I couldn't possibly - I barely even know you and I wouldn't be able to pay you back."

She shook her head. "Consider it as my thank you for taking care of JJ before I got to the school. I love her to bits, but I'm pretty sure you ground her and make her tolerable so she's not a total jackass jock - OW!"

JJ pinched her. "That's enough." She turned to Spencer. "Well?"

He groaned. "Unlock the door and let me out. I have a costume to find."

JJ squealed excitedly, clapping her hands together and unlocking the doors, getting out of the car.

* * *

It turned out that Emily knew the person running the shop and was able to have it shut down for them for an hour so Spencer could find the perfect costume. The three of them were looking through the racks, occasionally yelling out a costume idea which was quickly rejected by the other two.

"Chewbacca?" Spencer called out, picking it up.

"Definite no," JJ told him, thumbing through a rack. "Gryffindor?"

"Nein, he's a Ravenclaw," Emily said, humming and looking through. "I don't know, what does Blackhawk like?"

"Sports, but I'm not going to fit in to begin with, I'm _definitely_ not dressing as something I can't pull off." He sighed. "This is hopeless."

"No, it's not," JJ said, rubbing his back. "We'll find something."

Emily picked up a catalog, looking through. "Mask, yes or no?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, when you meet Blackhawk, do you want him to know who you are right that very second, or do you still want your anonymity, so if you completely blow it, he can't ridicule you?" Emily winced as JJ elbowed her. "I'm trying to protect him!"

Spencer thought it over before nodding. "A mask sounds fine, but not a full one. I want to be able to breathe well."

JJ picked up another catalog, humming to herself as she flipped through the pages. "Winter Soldier?"

He wrinkled his nose, shaking his head. "That mask sounds uncomfortable."

"Clown?" Emily suggested.

"Coulrophobic," he said, and when they looked at him, confused, he sighed. "Scared of them. It's a legitimate fear."

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?" JJ asked.

"...I'm not an adolescent boy, no."

"Okay," Emily started. "Two great choices. We have Phantom of the Opera, and we have Captain America. Phantom covers the right side of your face, while Cap covers the top half of your face."

"I definitely don't have the build for Captain America," he told them.

"Neither did Steve Rogers. We may not have some serum, but it's a pretty great costume."

Emily eyed her. "What do you know about Captain America that didn't come from the movies."

"Plenty from Spence's comic book collection," she said matter-of-factly. "So is it Phantom?"

"...But that shows more of my identity than Captain America would."

Emily groaned, tilting her head back. "We have ten minutes before Paul opens the shop back up. Now work with us here."

JJ put up a finger, flipping through the catalog before landing on one, turning it to face them. "Well?"

Spencer eyed it and the two of them kept an eye on him as he smirked. "Yes."

Emily exhaled, relieved, going to grab it and walking up to the register, setting it down. "Finally!"

* * *

The three of them went to Emily's house to get ready for the Halloween dance.

"Your mom doesn't mind all of us getting ready here?" Spencer asked, buttoning his shirt and walking out of the bathroom.

"She's not even in the state, trust me, it's fine."

When there was a knock on the door, Spencer looked toward Emily's room. "Should I get that?"

"Unless you want me walking out there in a bra and panties," she reasoned. "I know you don't swing that way but if you want me to make you feel very uncomfortable I'll gladly get it."

JJ laughed softly. "It's probably Will, Spence. Just let him in and talk to him for a few minutes while we finish getting our costumes together."

He walked over, opening the door. Will was already dressed up in his costume, exactly as JJ had described it. "Hey, Spencer. I see she successfully suckered you into it."

Spencer nodded. "Something tells me this was a real mission for her."

"Oh believe me, it was. All she did for the last week was talk about how she was going to get you to go."

He stepped aside. "Well. It worked." He closed the door after Will walked inside and sat back on the couch.

"No offense, but what are you supposed to be in all black?"

Spencer motioned toward the mask on the table. "Zorro."

"Classic. Different. You might even win the costume contest for the originality."

He shrugged slightly. "I have no interest in drawing attention to myself. Hence why I don't mind the dark costume."

"Makes sense." He reached on Emily's coffee table, picking up a sports magazine and looking through it. "Any idea when they'll be ready?"

"They said a few minutes, which I believe in female time translates to about 18.7 minutes, give or take a few seconds."

Will laughed softly when the two girls protested and shook his head, putting his feet up on the table and reading.

* * *

**Derek**

Derek walked into Penelope's house, up to her bedroom and knocking. "Your date has arrived."

She opened her door a sliver, peeking out at him. "How nice of him to be prompt, but I've still got some getting ready to do, so I'm gonna need you to chill for a little bit while I finish beautifying myself."

He pouted. "But you're already gorgeous."

She sighed, groaning. "And you're entirely too perfect. Are you sure you're not even a teeny tiny bit straight and we could date, get married, and have adorable little babies?"

"Sorry, kitten, not my thing." He motioned toward the backpack on his shoulder. "I'm gonna go get ready. How much longer are you going to be?"

She thought to herself, humming. "...About twenty minutes."

"Sounds good to me."

"We still surprising each other with our fabulous costumes?" she asked.

He nodded. "Now, quit holding your ladies up with your arm and finish getting dressed."

She rolled her eyes, closing her door and he laughed, walking to the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

* * *

"Any idea what Hotch and Haley are going as?" he called out, leaning against the wall across from her room.

"Yeah, he picked out a couples' costume for them. Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland."

"Can't say I blame him, Haley is sort of the perfect candidate for Alice."

"And it'll be fun to see him in the Hatter's make-up," Penelope added. "Just need a few finishing touches on my make-up and I'll be good to go. Now, why are you so eager to get there?"

He checked his phone and saw a text from 187.

_My friends have successfully suckered me into going to the dance. Did you still want to meet?_

He smiled, thinking, before texting him back.

_Courtyard by the fountain around 9:00? Use the codename if you think it's me. Though whoever you say it to that isn't me may think you're crazy._

His phone buzzed a minute later.

_Thanks. Same for you - so people can think you're crazy walking around muttering numbers, whereas I'm talking about a popular NHL team._

Derek smirked.

_I guess so. See you soon._

A wadded up shirt hit him in the face and he looked up. "What?"

She motioned toward her costume. "I said I'm ready to go and I asked you why you're so eager. Now, eagerness first, fawning over my perfection second."

He looked her over and smiled at her successful Day of the Dead costume. "Does saying you look beautiful count?"

"...Yes, but I'll take it. Now, why do you suddenly want to go to this dance when you constantly objected to it before?"

He licked his lips, exhaling, trying to come up with the best way to explain it. "I… kind of met a guy?" he offered.

She gasped, nudging his arm. "Shut up you did NOT."

"Like I said, kind of? We met in my online tutoring sessions, we've been talking for a while, and I just, I think I like him. And I was able to convince him to finally meet up at the dance tonight."

She squealed excitedly, pulling him into a hug. "Who is he? Tell me his name. No, tell me _everything_."

He shrugged. "I don't exactly _know_? We met online and we talk all the time but we never exchanged names or anything. So it's sort of a blind date that I set myself up on?"

"...That sounds overly complicated. All of that work for one guy?" she asked, picking up her purse and looking through to be sure she had everything.

"Yeah, I guess so."

She put up a hand. "So, let me get this straight. We're going to the dance together, because y'know, you don't want people to know you're not straight, but you're going to meet up with a _guy_ you've been talking to?"

"...Sounds about right."

She shook her head. "You've got it _bad_ already without ever meeting the guy. I hope he's _actually_ a senior and not some creepy senior citizen."

"Hurtful."

She smirked, looking over his costume. "So, what train of thought led to the gladiator look?"

He glanced down at himself. "Well, I started out as Thor, because of the nickname you so often refer to me as, but then I saw about four different guys who go to our school grab Thor costumes. I figured I had to think outside the box and went with Hercules, just not the Disney version of him."

"Smart thinking, good looking… I'd say that costume is an all around win. Now," she spun around, "shower me in compliments."

He grinned. "You look absolutely flawless, princess. How many attempts on the make-up?"

"Too many to count. Now," she grabbed his hand. "Let's go meet your Romeo."

* * *

When they arrived at the dance, plenty of people had already shown up.

"So, do you know what he looks like or what he's wearing?" Penelope asked, parking her car.

He shook his head. "All I know is to meet him out by the fountain in a half hour."

She checked the clock. "Good, I can steal you for a few dances, show you off, and maybe even find myself some man candy while you're gone."

He put a hand to his chest. "You'd replace me that quickly? Come on, sweetness, I thought you were better than that."

She pushed his arm, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car. "You may be my type, but unfortunately, I'm not yours. A girl has needs that you just can't fulfill."

He smirked, walking around and holding out his arm. "Until then, shall we?"

She nodded, looping her arm in his. "We oh so totally shall."

They walked into the dance and he felt people turn to look at him. He shook his head, walking over to Hotch and Haley.

"Wow, Hotch, I have to say you make a fantastic Hatter," Penelope said, adjusting his hat, before glancing over at Haley, gasping. "Haley Brooks, are you sure you weren't the great Alice in a past life because oh holy being above you are _perfect_."

She gave Penelope a smile. "Thank you." She nudged Hotch. "See, Aaron? I told you this would be a great idea."

Hotch glanced at the two of them. "Not exactly a couples costume?"

Haley nodded. "They decided to surprise each other with their choices this year, but they seemed to have chosen from opposite sides of the spectrum." She looked at Penelope. "Not to say you don't look amazing, because seriously, nobody else here could pull this off as well as you do."

She blushed, which couldn't be seen through her make-up. "Thank you, theater queen." She turned to Derek. "A dance for your fair maiden, Herc?"

"It would be my pleasure," he said, taking her hand and walking out to the dance floor.

Once they finished a few dances, and were shown up by Hotch and Haley, they walked off of the dance floor to get some punch.

Penelope eyed the clock. "It's nearly that time." She patted his arm. "I'll see you afterward, okay? We'll leave, go get some ice cream, talk all about it in the great and almighty Esther."

He smiled, leaning in and kissing her cheek. "You know you're amazing, right, Baby Girl?"

She smiled right back. "I've heard it once or twice, and I'm sure you'll say it a hundred more times. Now go before I change my mind and keep you all to myself." She patted his arm. "Have fun, be safe."

"I will." He turned and walked out the door, taking a seat on a bench near the fountain. Luckily, everyone was more concerned about being inside at the dance, so he was able to sit out there by himself, waiting for 187.

* * *

**Spencer**

When JJ and Emily finally emerged from the bedroom, JJ eyed him. "What time?"

"What time for what?" Will asked.

JJ held up a hand, ignoring him. "When do we need to leave?"

He eyed the clock, clicking his tongue. "Well, if we were to leave within the next five minutes, and avoid the highway, take the back roads, we'd be able to be there by 8:50, and considering I need to be there at 9:00," he said, motioning toward his phone.

"Then let's go," she said, picking up her purse and putting it over her shoulder, looking at Will. "...Perfect!" She turned around to face Emily, motioning toward the two of them. "Come on, Em, tell me we're a perfect match and going to win the couples' costume contest, if not homecoming king and queen."

She fixed her hat. "You two are adorable, but you're against Hotchner and Brooks, class president and the theater queen, not to mention there's Derek Morgan and his girlfriend, the walking anime character. Competition's tough."

She frowned, turning to Will. "You think we're perfect, don't you, baby?"

He nodded, kissing the top of her head. "Absolutely."

Emily put her hand to her throat, making choking noises, and Spencer laughed.

JJ shook her head, taking her car keys out of her purse. "Let's get going."

Will and JJ took the front seat, which left Spencer and Emily together in the back.

"What do you say, Zorro, do you think you're going to make an entrance with Harley Quinn?" she asked, motioning toward Emily.

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I don't really think I _need_ an entrance, considering I'm completely irrelevant to about 99% of the student body, though if Emily wants to walk in with me, it's her choice."

What do you say, Em?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

She reached over, putting her arm around Spencer's shoulder. "Sounds like a plan to me."

He checked his phone and saw a text from Blackhawk.

_I'm here and waiting. See you soon_.

He wrapped an arm around his middle, tilting his head back and groaning. "I'm nauseous."

"Should JJ pull over?" Will asked, looking around on the car floor.

JJ shook her head, reaching over to the window controls, rolling down Spencer's window. "He just needs some fresh air and to calm down."

"Easy for you to say when the student body doesn't make it their mission to be sure your high school experience is so much less than perfect."

Emily patted his knee. "You'll be fine. Deep breaths."

He inhaled, holding it, before letting it out. "I shouldn't do this," he mumbled to himself. "This is a mistake."

She shook her head. "It's a good thing and it's necessary. You can totally do it and you will. You've earned it."

He smiled slightly. "I've _earned_ it?"

"Yes. All the work you've done and how much interaction there's been? You deserve this experience."

Emily laced their fingers together and he smiled, squeezing her hand, closing his eyes and trying to calm himself down.

* * *

When they pulled up to the dance, Spencer eyed the sign and shook his head. "I'm going home."

"No, you're not," JJ said, getting out and opening his door. "Come on, first step is the hardest."

He exhaled, looking up at her before getting out of the car, grabbing his mask and tying it on.

JJ turned him around, checking the knot to be sure it was secure. "We'll walk in, Emily will stick by you until you choose to leave, have some punch, relax a little, and go," she whispered in his ear, patting his arm. "You'll be fine, and if at any point you need to leave, just come find me and I'll drive you home."

He nodded slightly, holding out his arm to Emily. "M'lady?"

She smirked, putting her arm through and walking inside with him.

The two of them enjoyed a few glasses of punch, which Emily assured him didn't have anything in it - yet. When he looked up and saw it was 8:55, he turned to Emily. "And you don't mind me leaving you?"

She shook her head. "I can people watch and make my own fun. Now, will you just go and enjoy yourself for once?" She reached over, adjusting his costume. "Perfect."

He smiled at her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, now _go_."

He took a deep breath, walking outside and standing beside the fountain, putting his hands into his pockets and going through mathematical equations and statistics in his head to calm himself down. He couldn't believe that he was _actually_ doing this, but he knew if he didn't, he'd regret it, so he stood there, waiting impatiently for Blackhawk to arrive.


	3. Chapter 3

**Derek/Spencer**

Derek looked around the fountain constantly, checking the time on his phone and wondering if 187 was even going to show up. There were a few people who lingered, but it was just for fresh air and they went back inside shortly after. Some of the faculty came out as well, and he shuddered at the thought. Luckily for him, they, much like the students, only came out to cool down. He started to think he was going to be stood up when a guy stood beside the fountain, mumbling to himself and pacing. When it had been a few minutes and he still stuck around, he stood up, walking to him. His back was turned so he thought out what he was going to do.

"...187?" he asked, hoping it would be him and he didn't just embarrass himself.

Spencer swallowed, hearing his pseudonym. This was it. This was going to be meeting Blackhawk. Finally, after all this time, he was going to find out who his closest acquaintance was. Sure, he had JJ, but sometimes she wasn't around, and Blackhawk was. He took a deep breath before turning around to face him.

He blinked in disbelief. This was a joke. It absolutely had to be.

"Derek Morgan? _You're_ Blackhawk?" No. He couldn't be. Whoever Blackhawk was had to see him standing there and tell Derek about it to get rid of him. There was no way in this universe that the person he'd been talking to was Derek Morgan, jock extraordinaire.

Derek looked down at himself, clicking his tongue. "Yeah, I guess the costume doesn't do much to hide my identity."

Spencer bit his lip, nodding. "Yeah, I know who you are. Well, this has been great. Nice to meet you, I should get going."

As he turned to walk away, Derek reached his hand out, grabbing his arm. "Can we talk? This isn't a mistake, I promise you."

He licked his lips, eyeing him. "Don't you know who I am?"

"Of course. You're _Geniusof187_, or 187 for short. You dug me out of a pretty bad self-loathing hole by helping me out and I've been waiting to meet you since the first time we had an actual conversation. I know exactly who you are." He paused. "...What's your name?"

Spencer chewed on his cheek. "And what about your girlfriend?" he asked, changing the subject. "I'm sure she'd have a thing or two to say about this meeting."

"She's just my best friend and she's kind of the one who wanted me to do this after I explained."

Spencer sighed, turning to face him. "No offense meant, but you can't be Blackhawk."

"And why's that?"

He cleared his throat. "There's just… you're Derek Morgan. Captain of the hockey team. You're popular and you're the person everyone watches and everyone looks up to you. And you just so happen to be an amazingly understanding closeted therapist? I don't think you can be both guys."

"I'm not."

"Then tell me who you are."

"Yes, I'm a jock, and yes, sometimes I can be a jackass but…" he paused, thinking to himself. "Okay, October 9th, it was your birthday. I messaged you an emoji, and you didn't get it because you don't have an iPhone, so I had to screencap my phone and text it to you. You went on to say that it wasn't fair for certain phone users to have features that others don't. We then had a discussion for a half hour of different things my phone could do that yours couldn't, and your response was 'well, I can play Snake and I've made it through nearly every level'."

Spencer bit his lip, smiling to himself. "I could prove it."

"I'm sure you could. Then just a week ago, you spent nearly forty-five minutes going over the same homework problem with me, because you knew it would be on my test the next day. Once I finally worked through it, you told me to go on YouTube and search for a video to celebrate, specifically 'We Will Rock You', and I told you the next day I hummed it through my test, passed, and got the whole class humming along. The teacher was so impressed that nobody got marked down for distracting."

"And gave you bonus points for starting it. You're lucky she was a Queen fan."

Derek grinned. "Exactly. Do you mind going for a walk?" he asked, motioning toward the pathway.

Spencer shook his head. "If you want your homecoming status, I think you should stay inside."

"I really couldn't care less. Besides, Hotch and Haley Brooks have that in the bag. I don't want a status or a ribbon saying I won a costume contest. I just want to talk." He held out his hand. "Please."

Spencer glanced at his hand. "The number of pathogens passed during a handshake is staggering... it's actually safer to kiss."

"You have plans, Pretty Boy?" Derek asked, smiling at him.

Spencer gasped, blushing. "No, that's not, I didn't mean - I just. I don't touch hands."

"Ah, germophobe. You mentioned that before." He pointed to the walkway. "After you."

Spencer took a deep breath, nodding and walking.

"So, 187," he said, putting his hands behind his back and walking alongside him. "Would you tell me who you really are if I was able to guess it?"

He thought it over before shrugging. "Maybe I will."

"Maybe?" he questioned. "Well, what if we play 20 questions. Does that work?"

"I think 10 would suffice," Spencer offered.

"Okay, I'll take what you'll give me," he said, thinking over his first question… you do _actually_ go to my high school, right? You didn't transfer out or anything of the sort?"

"That's two questions, but I'll count it as one. Yes, I _actually_ go there."

"I'm just checking," he defended. "The Internet can be a very dangerous place for us youngins. Now, number two. Were you genuinely disappointed when you found out that your friend Blackhawk was me? You can be honest, I can take it."

Spencer shook his head. "I wasn't. Just surprised."

"Even though I lost, did you vote for me for student body president?" he asked.

"Waste of a question, but yes. Your values were much better than Hotchner's, but I can see why the class would choose him over you."

Derek smirked. "Okay. Now, here's a toughie. It's Friday night, do you stay in with some popcorn and Netflix, or go out and have a pizza with friends?"

"Popcorn and Netflix. I borrow my friend's account, but they have some pretty good documentaries… what does that matter?"

He shrugged slightly. "Well, I like to know if the people I'm interested in have good taste. All of the pizza around here sucks."

Spencer chuckled. "I do have to agree. I've yet to find a satisfying pizza."

Derek stopped him. "...You'd think I could remember hearing that laugh or seeing that smile."

Spencer blushed, looking down at the ground. "Next question?"

Derek seriously considered his next few questions, wondering what he could ask to tell him who 187 really was. "Okay, are you in any clubs at school?"

Spencer shook his head. "Between odd jobs and taking care of my mom, I don't have time for any extracurricular activities, and that includes clubs of any sort."

"If I ask how your mother's doing, does that count as a question?"

"I won't count it." He bit his lip, kicking at the ground before looking up at him. "She has her days. Today happened to be a really good one, and I'm glad that she told me I needed to get out of the house. I just hope she stays that way." It felt odd talking about his mother to someone that wasn't JJ, but at the same time, telling Blackhawk, or now Derek Morgan, felt right.

"For your sake, I hope she does too."

They walked into an opening and Derek motioned to the bench for Spencer to sit down. He did so and Derek sat down beside him.

"Do you have a favorite sport?"

"Is this your way for me to sing your praises?"

Derek laughed. "No, but I wish I'd thought of it."

Spencer smirked. "I enjoy watching basketball on television, and I'm working on understanding hockey. I'm not much for interacting with those in school off-hours. I prefer time to myself more than anything, and enjoying things at my pace."

"Makes sense." He moved closer to Spencer, and Spencer found it in him not to shy away. "I hate the fact that I have to ask this question, but have I ever done anything to hurt you? Because if I did, I swear, I don't pull that anymore. My mom would have my ass if I even thought about hurting someone-"

Spencer was quick to shake his head. "We've never had so much as a real-life interaction. You're fine."

He nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. "Okay, so we've never interacted, that means we've never so much as bumped into each other in the hallway. Knowing everything you know now, that you know, I'm me, would you talk to me again in person?"

Spencer chewed on his cheek before giving him a small nod. "Maybe not in front of a crowd or announcing it to the world, but yes. I like talking to you."

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" Derek asked, looking him in the eyes.

Spencer smiled slightly. "Possibly. I mean, I've seen you before and you may have seen me in passing, but it's a possible phenomena. Now, if I've done my math correctly, you have one question left."

Derek seemed to consider what his last question would be before lifting Spencer's chin up to look him in the eye. "187, do you feel like you made the right choice, coming here and meeting me tonight?"

"Yes," he put plainly. "But do you, Derek Morgan, ever want to see me again after today?"

"Without a doubt."

The two of them sat out there for what felt like ages to Spencer, talking about anything and everything that came to mind.

Derek smirked. "How is it possible that I've never met someone as cool as you?"

Spencer scoffed. "Yeah, Derek Morgan considers _me_ cool."

"I do," Derek insisted. "We have so much in common and it's crazy that we've never talked before in person, because I don't understand how we weren't brought together before now."

"Opposite sides of the social spectrum?" Spencer offered. "You have your tier, I have mine, and very rarely are they equalized. If it weren't for a fluorescent pink flyer on the bulletin boards at school, we'd have never met and tonight wouldn't have happened."

"In that case, I'm glad I sucked so bad at Math," Derek said, grinning at him.

"I never thought I'd say this, but that makes two of us."

They paused when the principal started announcing the winners of the costume contest. As if he'd rehearsed, Spencer mouthed 'And your homecoming king and queen are… Aaron Hotchner and Haley Brooks!'.

Derek laughed. "Saw that one coming?"

"Pretty much everyone did. I bet I could go two for two."

"Oh?"

He nodded as he started talking again. "'And most original costume goes to… Penelope Garcia.'. Want three-for-three?"

Derek shrugged. "Sure, show it off."

"'And the winners of cutest couple costume are… Jennifer Jareau and Will LaMontagne!'." Spencer tried not to show a reaction, but he was definitely glad that JJ had won the prize she was going after.

"She's captain of the soccer team, right?" Derek asked.

"I think so. And he's on the school newspaper. The guy with the accent."

Derek nodded. "Right. You seem to know the student body pretty well for somebody who doesn't want to be a part of it."

"What can I say? It's a gift with no receipt."

"Can I say something without it scaring you away?" Spencer asked softly.

"Of course."

Spencer took a deep breath, exhaling. "I've never… I don't open up to people this easily, but with you, it just feels like the right thing to do. You worry about my mom's health and ask how I'm doing and I kind of like that feeling."

Derek smiled at him. "Me too. I haven't even told my closest friends about my dreams for college or everything about my dad. But you know those things."

"I'm glad I could be there. Your thoughts are safe with me."

"Same," Derek said. "You helped me feel comfortable in my own skin, and I don't think I can ever thank you enough for that." He moved closer to Spencer, so they were mere inches apart. He moved in and Spencer panicked, unsure of what to do, before ultimately deciding to just let it happen.

A phone going off immediately caused both of them to jump back.

"It's not me," Derek said, motioning toward his pocket.

Spencer nodded. "Right." He dug through his pocket, taking out his phone and checking it. "It's um, it's my ringtone for my mom. This'll just be a minute." He stood up, walking away from Derek and answering it. "Hey, Mom. Is everything okay?"

"Spencer, you're not in the house. Where are you?"

He winced. "Mom, you told me to go out with JJ for the night. I'm fine. I'll be home in a few hours," he whispered, not wanting Derek to hear.

"No, Spencer, you need to be home _now_. I don't trust the world. The government could be listening in on this conversation right now. Is that why you're whispering? I knew it. I knew they were tapping our phones. You need to come home. I'll protect you."

He swallowed, realizing that it was quickly becoming a bad night for her. "I'll see you in a few minutes. I love you, Mom."

"I love you too. Stay safe."

He sighed, hanging up and turning toward Derek. "I'm sorry. This has been great, it has, but I need to go."

"Is she okay?" he asked.

He swallowed, nodding. "She woke up and I wasn't home. I have to go home to her. Maybe some other time."

"Do you need a ride?"

"No, absolutely not. I mean - my friend drove me here and my mom's met her so if I need help, she can come inside and just - I need to go." He stuffed his phone between his belt and his pants, running inside.

Derek thought it over. He had just met the greatest person, and he was running away. Did he stay there and just accept the fact he didn't get to kiss him? Or did he go after him, demanding to know who he really was so he could thank him for everything? Because of 187, he learned to be comfortable with his sexuality. Because of 187, he learned to be a decent human being. Because of 187, he didn't let sports get the best of him. He made him who he was, and there was no way he could let him get away that easily.

Spencer immediately spotted JJ, walking over to her. "JJ, I need to go home."

"...Did things not go well? Spence, do I need to talk to someone?" she asked.

He shook his head. "It's mom. I'm sorry but - I need you to drive me home. Please?"

She nodded. "Say no more." She dug through her purse, taking out her car keys. "Will, I'll be back in a half hour. Don't think this means you don't owe me a slow dance."

"Of course not. Hope everything's okay, Spencer."

Spencer nodded his appreciation, following JJ out. He felt like something was missing, but couldn't dwell on it. He had to get home to his mother and take care of her. He'd gone out and made her uncomfortable, so he had to fix this.

"Will and I won cutest couple!" she squealed, getting into her car and starting it.

"...Derek Morgan is Blackhawk."

She turned to face him. "_What_?!"

He nodded slightly. "Derek Morgan, captain of the hockey team, Mr. Popular, is the greatest guy I've ever met."

She gasped as she buckled her seatbelt. "Did you talk?"

He buckled his own. "Yeah, quite a lot actually, and he's just as great in person as he is online."

"So you told him who you are?" she asked, pulling out of the parking spot and driving.

"Not exactly."

"And by not exactly you mean…?"

"No."

"Spence! Why not?"

He scoffed. "Why not? JJ, I live a less than luxurious life. He has everything handed to him and I have a schizophrenic mother I need to take care of all the time because medications stopped working for her, and I need to work as many jobs as I can find to support the two of us. I'm not what he's expecting and I should just leave all of this online. He may have almost kissed me-"

She reached over, backhanding him. "Nuh uh!"

"...Yes?" he said. "But it doesn't matter. He could do better and if I disappear, I'm doing him and the rest of the student body a favor."

"Why do they matter?"

"Because he's super popular and has his cliques and if they find out he's not only _gay_ but with a beanpole like me? They'll laugh him out of the school and bully me worse than I already am. It's better this way."

She sighed, rubbing his arm. "You'll figure it out, Spence."

"I already have," he mumbled.

* * *

Spencer arrived home and took off the pieces of his costume, leaving them in JJ's front seat. "I don't want her to be worried if I show up not looking like myself," he explained, balling them up. "Give them back on Monday."

"Will do." She leaned over, kissing his cheek. "Send my love once she's more lucid, okay?"

"I will. Enjoy the dance, Ms. Cutest Couple," he said, giving her a small smile before walking inside.

He found several of the couch cushions thrown around and the living room trashed, meaning that his mother thought the government had bugged them again. After spending a half hour calming her down and insisting that they weren't being watched, he was able to get her to relax enough to lie down in her room and get some sleep. Walking back to the living room, he sighed to himself, starting the clean-up once again. Luckily he'd replaced all of their family possessions and assorted other decorations with plastic ones, so when moments like this happened, nothing got destroyed. That was a lesson he had to learn the hard way.

As he was fixing the couch cushions, he thought about the night, and a smile came across his face. He started to pick up the books thrown from their shelves, arranging them. His mind kept going back to Derek Morgan and the amazing night they'd had, getting to know each other better. Derek now knew nearly as much as JJ did about him, and he wished he'd given him a name, or at least kissed him goodnight so he could hold onto that memory. After spending more time than necessary dwelling on it, he sighed to himself. Nights like that didn't happen to guys like him, and there was a reason. His life wasn't meant to have constant happy endings, and he knew there had to be a catch to all of this, or something negative was going to happen as a result of him enjoying himself. He definitely needed to forget that tonight ever happened and let it go.

Back at the dance, Derek looked at the phone in his hand, wondering who exactly his owner was. There were only a few contacts in the phone, and they were all work related. Some names stuck out as his classmates, but he had to wonder if he had any interaction with them, or if he was just tutoring them like he had with him. The text messages were also all work-related, such as 'can you mow my lawn on Saturday' and 'how much for a website?'. Whatever the case may be, 187 would be looking for this phone soon - he had to. When he did, Derek needed to tell him that tonight mattered and it was one of the best nights of his life.

* * *

**Spencer**

Spencer spent his Sunday taking care of his mother and, when he had the chance, went out to pick up a new cell phone, and luckily he'd been up for an upgrade. He wasn't sure how he managed it, but he ended up losing his phone at the dance, and he needed a replacement immediately in case his mother needed to get in touch with him, or anyone who could hire him. JJ had tried texting him several times that day, asking about the night before. He ignored them until he got to a point where he had to check his phone.

_So, you and Derek Morgan? Come on, Spence, I'm dying here._

He groaned, thinking of his response.

_I have two tutoring sessions to prepare for. Get me early tomorrow and I'll tell you everything over breakfast at school, but it has to be kept quiet._

He had just started on his notes again when his phone buzzed.

_Emily wants to know too, do I need to cut her out?_

He sighed, clicking his tongue.

_She can know, but nobody else. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm busy._

He was relieved when his phone didn't buzz again and turned his attention back to his computer screen. He checked his e-mail and message boards and saw no recent posts from Blackhawk, which made him think that he wanted everything to remain in the past as well. Though slightly let down, he realized that last night was just a fluke and he should stop thinking about it.

* * *

**Derek**

The next morning, he brought the phone to Penelope, wondering if she could figure out who it belonged to.

She turned the phone around. "Where did he get this phone, 2004?" she asked. "I wasn't aware they still _made_ these."

He shrugged, sitting in the beanbag chair in her room. "Apparently they do, and I need you to work me a little magic."

"So it was that good, huh?" she said, looking through the phone for any apps that would tell her who it belonged to.

"I told you over ice cream last night, I _really_ like this guy."

"And what were the answers to your game of less than 20 questions to figure out who he is?" she inquired, finding none of the answers she was looking for.

He exhaled, thinking it over. "That could actually work? He does go to our school-"

She rolled her chair over and typed on her computer, pulling up a list and going through it. "Male and a senior?"

"...Yes."

She hummed to herself as the results popped up. "It's not a short list, but we've got just over 200 guys, excluding you and Hotch, because he's a man of many talents, but being in two places at once is not one of them. What else?"

He sighed. "He voted for me for student body president?"

"Adorable, but the votes were counted by hand, not electronically, so the only thing in the school's system is that Hotch was elected."

"Did you just say-"

She put her hand up. "Do you want to know who he is or not?"

"And this won't get us in any legal trouble?"

She laughed. "Only if we get caught. Now come on."

"I don't suppose 'enjoys popcorn and Netflix' is criteria in the school's database, or the fact he enjoys documentaries, or even that he likes to watch basketball?"

"That'd be a big fat _nope_."

He snapped his fingers. "He doesn't have time for any clubs. And he's smart, like, super smart."

"Now I can work with these parameters!" she squealed, typing. She watched as the results dwindled down and sighed. "Okay, it's not _perfect_, but male students in our graduating class who don't do any extracurricular activities and maintain at least a B average? We've got 50."

He sighed. "Any pictures?"

She shook her head. "I can't access the ID photos without the network password, and in order to get that, I'd have to sneak into the principal's records which is a big no no. If we get to that, I'll do it, don't get me wrong, but I think that's sort of a 'last resort' sort of thing, don't you?"

He nodded. "Can you get me the list of those 50?"

"Consider it done, complete with a summary of personal information." She turned back around in her chair, printing off the page, before signing out and wiping her history. Taking the paper out of her printer tray, she walked over, sitting beside him and holding it out. "Is he really worth all of this?"

He smiled. "Yeah, he is. Thank you." He kissed the top of her head. "Now, what's this I hear about a certain girl in a day of the dead costume making out with a guy in a Wizard of Oz Scarecrow costume?" he asked, facing her.

She blushed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not the type to kiss and tell - but I am the type to make out and totally blab." She sat up. "His name is Sam and he's in my AP English class and holy WOW Derek is he adorable. No offense to you, but he's attainable, and kind of gorgeous. After you went to talk to your 187, he approached me asking if I wanted some punch, we talked, and the next thing I knew I had an overwhelming desire to kind of put my tongue in his mouth."

He raised his eyebrows. "Got over me pretty quick."

She patted his head. "We're still best friends, but a girl has needs that you just can't fulfill."

"Point taken." He thumbed through the list, only a couple of names popping out at him, and he could immediately cross those names off. It was going to be a long journey, but he was destined to find 187. He had to be.

* * *

**Spencer**

As expected, JJ picked up Spencer early the following morning to get to school, after stopping in and checking on his mom, who insisted that she was fine and Spencer needed to get to school.

"How was she on Saturday?" JJ asked on the drive, wringing her hands on the steering wheel.

He sighed. "Another 'the government is listening to everything' tirade. The living room was trashed and I had to put it back together. Luckily, if that could be said, by the time I got home she was exhausted and went to sleep."

"Well, at least she calmed down. Did you try talking to her doctors about changing her medications around, seeing if that helps at all?"

"Yeah, Doctor Norman's going to stop by while I'm at school today." He swallowed. "I reminded her, so I'm hoping I don't get a phone call around noontime about it."

"Wow. Anything from Derek Morgan?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Blackhawk," he corrected. "If we're going to talk about this semi-publicly, I'd like to stick to the pseudonym."

She nodded. "Right, got it. Anything from _Blackhawk_?"

"Nothing. No e-mails, no texts… nothing. It's just like Saturday never happened. As it should be."

He watched out the window and she sighed, driving the rest of the way in silence.

Once they got to school, they went to the cafeteria, where JJ insisted on buying them breakfast. Knowing that arguing with her was pointless, he let it happen, grabbing himself an orange juice and following her to their table. She set his tray in front of him and he sat down, putting his bag down beside him and picking up his fork, poking at the food before eating it.

Emily walked up, sitting across from Spencer and setting a takeout coffee in front of him. "Thank me later."

He looked at the cup and his eyes went wide. "Please tell me that has four sugars."

"Indeed it does."

He reached out, picking it up and taking a sip. "Thank you."

"My pleasure." She pulled a bag out of her backpack, opening it and taking out a breakfast sandwich. "So, what happened Saturday?"

"That depends on what JJ already told you," he said, taking another bite of his waffles.

JJ put up her hand, swallowing her food. "Scout's honor, I've said nothing. I can pinky swear it."

"Seriously, she shut me out. I just know what I already knew… which is pretty much nothing."

He nodded, pointing to his tray. "Just give me a minute to finish this."

After he finished eating, he wiped off his hands with his napkin and drank his coffee. "So, I met him," he started, clearing his throat and lowering his voice. "...and it was Derek Morgan."

"What?!" Emily squealed.

JJ elbowed her. "Shh."

"Shit. Sorry." She turned to Spencer. "What'd you do?"

"I tried to get away from him," he explained. "I didn't want to give him a chance and just wanted to get out of there, but he convinced me that I should give him a try, so I did."

"Did you talk?"

He nodded. "He brought up past conversations to assure me that it was him, and then we walked around and talked for a while. I got the impression he was interested but," he shook his head, "come on, that's not the case."

"Why not?" Emily asked him.

He sighed, pushing the crumbs on his tray with his fork. "Because he's him and I'm me."

"But you said yourself, he seemed interested. Why not give it a try?"

"Because he could do better," Spencer put plainly, throwing the tray away. "Like I can compete with Jordan Todd, Tamara Barnes, Savannah Hayes, and Penelope Garcia, who may I mention are all females?"

"You've been with girls too, Spence. You dated Austin-"

"I don't think one trip to the movies counts as a date," he justified.

"What about Lila?"

He scoffed. "I don't think 'making out' during a game of spin the bottle that you dragged me into is a relationship."

JJ sighed. "So you're not even going to try?"

He shook his head. "It was just one night. He was probably, I don't know, caught up in the moment or something. He hasn't gotten in touch with me, and I haven't gotten in touch with him-"

"Could be because he's the one who found your phone, so doesn't know he _can_ contact you," Emily brought up.

"I just - it was nothing to him, obviously. And let's just leave it in the past."

They both wanted to say something else, but Will walked up, taking the seat next to JJ and kissing her cheek.

"Cutest couple alert," Emily said, balling up the bag her sandwich came in and throwing it away.

Spencer smiled to himself as he took the last sip of his coffee, throwing away the cup.

"Did you guys hear about Saturday?" Will asked.

"You two won cutest couple. Yeah, we heard. Remember, I was there," Emily pointed out.

Spencer laughed and Will shook his head. "Not what I meant. One of the cheerleaders said she saw Derek Morgan duck out of the party and spent most of his night with some guy. Nearly kissed him too."

JJ's eyes widened as she looked over at Spencer. He shook his head at her, telling her not to bring it up.

"Seriously?" JJ asked. "Did she say who the guy was?"

"No, just said it was too dark to see who he was, but he had a mask on, so she couldn't really tell anyway. Everyone's been talking about it since I pulled up in the parking lot this morning."

Spencer cleared his throat. "I need to get to homeroom," he said quickly, putting his bag over his shoulder. "Emily, coming?"

She nodded, picking up her bag and eyeing JJ, before patting his back and following him out of the cafeteria.

Spencer's felt like he was drowning. It wasn't that he hadn't had an amazing time with Derek Morgan on Saturday, because he had, but he wasn't about to have his reputation ruined by some cheerleader who supposedly saw the two of them together. No, definitely not. He was staying in the shadows and out of Derek Morgan's business.

* * *

**Derek**

Penelope took the seat across from Derek in study hall. "Derek, this is _bad_."

"You're telling me," he said, flipping through his history book and finding the right chapter. "You're supposed to be in French class right now."

She shook her head. "Totally not what I'm talking about." She moved her chair closer to the table, leaning in and whispering. "People are _talking_, Derek. They're talking about you and it's not the usual 'Derek Morgan's a player' or 'I can't wait to see how many goals Derek Morgan scores this season'. It's 'Did you see Derek Morgan at the dance with a _guy_?'."

He looked up at her. "Did you find anything on that phone yet?"

"Wha-" she paused. "No, I haven't found anything. The phone was legitimately used _just_ as a phone. All he had was contacts and text messages, and the phone's inactive now, meaning he has a new one. I tried searching the numbers he has for 'Mom' and 'Home', but they're both unlisted, and everyone else is just students he probably tutored."

He sighed. "Damn."

She clapped her hands together. "Derek Morgan, focus. This is kind of a big deal."

"Why?"

She lowered her voice. "You're trying to get into a good college next year. Good colleges give out scholarships, and they're not exactly ready to just hand them over to students who aren't, for lack of a better word, straight. One or two may want to be progressive and give it to you and hit the media jackpot, but you can't take your chances on that." She motioned toward the textbook, sighing. "Your grades aren't going to cut it and you _need_ a scholarship to get you in."

"And what if I don't want to care?" he said, tapping his pen against the table in the library. "What if I don't care about the scholarships or anything else and just really like this guy?"

She reached over, rubbing his arm. "That's your call. But my advice, at least for now, is to dodge the questions and rumors, and distance yourself from the situation until someone in the student body does something stupid and all of this blows over. You don't have to listen, but it's some damn good advice coming from me."

He smiled slightly. "Thanks, Baby Girl."

"Anytime." She leaned over, patting his arm. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Mrs. Edwards will be coming into the classroom from her 'urgent phone call' in the next two minutes and she's yet to take attendance." She blew him a kiss and put her backpack over her shoulder, taking a fake hall pass out of her pocket and walking out.

Derek ran a hand over his face, sighing. He didn't know that meeting up with 187 would mean he had to throw away his image. The worst part of it was that he really did want to talk to him again, but he didn't know how to approach him. Even when the hockey team won the state title, he wasn't as happy or comfortable as he had been Saturday night with 187. He also wondered why 187 hadn't tried to get in touch with him again. It seemed to him that the two of them really enjoyed each other's company. Everything felt like a giant blur and he was torn between two ideas: going after him and finding out who he was, or, like Penelope had said, staying quiet until he was set for college. This entire situation was giving him a headache, and he wished the right answer would just come to him.

It had taken a few days, but he finally decided to send 187 a few e-mails, hoping he'd respond or at least read them. His 'reputation' may be on the line, but he didn't really care. He'd never met someone like 187 before, and he wanted to talk to him again. The fact that he had opened up to 187 so much made it hard for him to just let it go: he knew more about him than Penelope did, and that took a lot for him. 187 had also opened up to him, and he thought if he opened up so much, he should want to see him again.

He chose to print up some posters on brightly colored paper to hang around the school, asking if anyone knew who the mysterious 'Zorro' was from the Halloween party. He'd bought a disposable cell phone and used that number on the poster for information.

Penelope motioned toward the poster one morning. "This is totally not what I meant."

He sighed. "I know, but I just, I really had a good time, and I want to have another conversation with him."

"And that's it?"

"...I don't know. But I at least deserve the chance, right?"

She put her hands up. "You do and I'm out of it. Have your fun, and I'm here for your ranting or gushing needs."

He smiled, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "Thank you."

"Anything for my God of Chocolate Thunder," she said, smirking and nudging him. "Now come on. It's lunch time and you're buying me an extra Jell-O cup."

He thought it over before clicking his tongue, nodding and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Let's go."

* * *

**Spencer**

JJ leaned against the wall outside the cafeteria, waiting for Spencer so they could walk in together. The last few days had been tough on him, not sure what he should do about Blackhawk, and he'd been much quieter than usual. She looked to her left and saw a bright colored poster. After reading it, she tore it down, gasping.

"What's that?" Spencer asked, pointing to it.

She held it out to him. "'Looking for information about 'Zorro' from the Halloween party. Please call or text with any details'."

He took the flyer, reading it. "That's not his number, it's a joke."

"Or it's a different number so people don't know it's him?" she offered, pointing to the flyer. "Come on, Spence, who else would this be?"

He eyed the flyer again before crumpling it into a ball. "Having been the target of bullying, this is a clear cut case of 'too good to be true'." He threw it into the nearest trash can and turned to her. "Lunch?"

She motioned toward the flyers still on the wall before shaking her head, patting his back. "Sounds good to me. Let me guess, baked potato, all the fixins, an apple juice, and a red Jell-O?"

He stopped in his tracks. "Am I really that predictable?"

"Little bit. Come on, Will and Emily are probably waiting for us."

He smiled to himself. "Can't keep Mr. Cutest Couple waiting, can you?"

She reached up, ruffling his hair. "Definitely not."

As they walked into the cafeteria, Spencer saw several more flyers on the walls and wondered just who was behind it. If it was Blackhawk, he didn't put it in any of the e-mails he'd sent him, at least from what he saw in the previews. He didn't have it in him to click the messages and read them, mainly because he was scared that the whole thing was just a giant joke and he was looking to embarrass him. It was better to just stay in the shadows and not make himself known.


	4. Chapter 4

**Derek/Penelope**

It had been a few days of joke phone calls when he was getting beyond frustrated. He had been told that 187 was various movie villains, a few teachers, and even a few 'there was no Zorro' answers emerged. He was sitting in the library after he finished his lunch, waiting for Penelope to show up.

She set her bag down beside the table, sitting next to him and sighing. "Still nothing from the tipline?"

He shook his head, showing her the text message that read 'Kevin Bacon'. "You tell me."

She laughed to herself. "Well, you _can_ connect _anyone_ to Kevin Bacon," she reasoned, logging into the computer.

He mock laughed. "I left lunch early, now tell me what your magic powers can do."

She looked around to be sure there weren't that many people around to hear, and even then she lowered her voice. "Did you think of anything new I could look up?"

"A few things."

She perked up, pressing a few buttons and using a faculty log-in screen.

"...Who did you just log in as?" he asked, pointing to the screen.

She gave him a look, raising an eyebrow. "Do you want me to do this or not?"

He put his hands up. "Point taken."

She pulled up a screen, typing in a few things and motioning to the screen. "Okay, we're at the 50 we had. Give me something good."

He thought it over. "He's in AP classes?"

She gasped. "Good, fantastic! I like!" She clicked a few times and watched the list dwindle down. "And just like that, we have 30 of these guys off the list. Guess they couldn't make the cut being a smarty pants." She patted his cheek. "No offense."

"None taken. You looked at clubs before, and said all 50 hadn't been in one, but is there anyone who's _never_ done an extracurricular their entire school career, at least since age 10."

"Okay, that one could be a little more difficult, that requires some fishing, but no need to sweat." She hummed to herself as she worked and smirked. "And just like that, we have 10 antisocial guys with high grades. What else?"

"Not sure if it means anything, but he was a skinny guy?"

She shook her head. "Nothing I can do with that."

The bell rang and he groaned. "If I'm late for math again, I'm getting a detention." He got up, pulling on his backpack. "Is this your study hall period?"

"Yeah, why, do you have anything else?" she asked, reaching in her bag and taking out her fluorescent pink post-it notes and a flower pen.

He took the pen, writing down a few things. "He's tall, he's smart, he's quiet… and his birthday. October 9th." He leaned over, kissing her forehead. "I need to run but you are an absolute _goddess_."

"Tell me something I don't know," she said, smirking. "Now run. You're too pretty for detention."

He smiled, saluting her and walking out of the library.

* * *

She drummed her fingers on the keys as she looked at the information he wrote down. Sure, the other things could help, but the fact that he had written down his birthday made it so much easier for her. She looked through the list and pulled up his file, smiling.

"Well well well, Spencer Reid, nice to finally see the guy my best friend can't shut up about," she said to herself, reading through his file and screencapping it, e-mailing the picture to herself so it would show up on her phone. "Finally." Printing off the information, she logged out of everything and cleared out the history, so all of this couldn't be traced back to her. After a few minutes, she got up, walking over to the printer and finding the tray empty. Groaning to herself, she hit her hand against the printer. It was infamous for either forgetting to print what you needed or printing out fifteen copies of it: she found that out the hard way when she needed to print a picture of a cancerous lung for a science project and she was greeted with several copies of it. She'd needed to watch several videos of animals on YouTube to wipe that image out of her brain.

She walked back to her computer, pulling out her English notebook and working on her notes.

* * *

**JJ**

In another part of the library, JJ was sat across from Emily, doodling in her notebook.

"I think I'm going to do it."

"Good for you," Emily mumbled, buried in her notes. "You and Will are going to make cute parents."

She reached across the table, hitting Emily's arm and motioning toward the flyers. "You can't tell me you haven't seen them."

Emily looked where she was pointing. "I don't think anyone can miss them. They're bright and staring everyone in the face no matter where you look." She eyed JJ. "And you're not going to do that to him."

"Do what?"

She pointed at the posters with her pencil eraser. "He's still trying to figure out everything that happened that night, and he's confused. I don't think the right answer here is to tell Derek Morgan and make it even more awkward for him. You know better than anyone that his high school experience is so much worse than everyone else's, and you can't make it even worse."

"But what if it makes it better?"

She sighed. "Not everyone gets the fairy tale like you and Will did, Jayje. Trust me, I know almost as much as he does. And I'm 100% on his side here."

JJ exhaled, twirling her hair around her finger. "What if I talk to him about it first? If it's okay with him, _then_ can I tell him?"

"Fine. If Reid gives you permission, you can go ahead, call the number, and tell him you've found Prince Charming. Until then just let him go at his own pace and figure it out as he goes. Okay?"

JJ nodded. "Fine."

Emily pointed to her notebook. "Now, you still have three math problems to finish before your class next period."

JJ groaned, sharpening her pencil. "Where's Spence when you need him?" she mumbled, opening her textbook and looking at the problems, checking the back to see if the answers were there.

"JJ!"

"It's not technically cheating if I just see the answer and figure out my own way to it," she said. "Besides, unfortunately my teacher is smarter than that."

Emily smiled, turning the textbook around. "Fine, I'll help."

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, some of Derek's teammates overheard their conversation, and one of them had grabbed the paper from the printer, which he thought was his paper for his History class the next period. He walked over, setting the paper in the middle of the table he and his teammates were studying at.

"...Who's this kid?" one of them asked, picking it up and reading.

"Spencer Reid." He sat down, motioning toward it. "He's Zorro, and even better, Morgan's the one looking for him."

"No shit!"

"I just heard two girls talking about it by the printers. What do you think Morgan wants with him?"

"I don't know, but I think we should have a little 'talk' with him first."

They all nodded their agreement, putting their focus back into their textbooks.

* * *

**Spencer**

Even though the flyers were absolutely everywhere in the school, nobody had told Derek Morgan it had been him. There were several messages in his inbox from him, asking who he was and if he'd meet up again, but there was part of him that couldn't bring himself to open the messages. He knew that they talked about seeing each other again, but he figured he'd been caught up in the moment and nothing was going to happen. Then he thought about the fact that they had almost kissed. It made him feel very odd, and he wasn't sure what it meant. Whatever the case may be, he wasn't ready for Derek to have to out himself and risk losing the scholarships he desperately needed to get into college.

He opened up his locker, putting in his books from the morning and taking out the ones he would need for the afternoon.

"Good day so far?"

He turned to see Emily leaning on the locker beside him. "No different than usual. What about you?"

She shrugged. "Nothing interesting. Though I did get this assignment in Math class that I could use a little, teeny tiny bit of help on because she was teaching but all I heard was the noise the adults on Charlie Brown make."

He smiled, nodding. "Say no more. Meet me in the library after school, and you can thank me by giving me a ride home. Deal?"

"Deal. You are a _life saver_." She pointed to the door of the locker. "What's that?"

He turned and looked, raising an eyebrow. "No idea." He peeled off the tape, opening the paper and reading it. "'187 - please meet me in the locker room after 8th period. - Blackhawk.' What, because I won't answer his e-mails he has to resort to breaking into my locker?" he said, folding it and sticking it into his bag.

"Wait, he's been e-mailing you?"

"Just a few messages every day, wondering if we could meet again. But come on, it's a joke, it has to be."

She shrugged. "Or he really likes you. It's your decision, and I respect no matter what you do, but maybe you should give him a chance, see what he has to say to you face-to-face."

He nodded, closing the locker door and fastening his lock. "If I do, and that's a big _if_, I'll meet you in the library when I'm done so I can help with your math homework?"

"Sounds good to me. Let me know how it goes."

"Will do." He looked up at the clock in the hallway. "Lunch?"

"I may join you in the baked potato line today. It's pizza day and I'd rather eat the cardboard box it comes in."

He smiled, turning around and walking toward the cafeteria.

They walked over to their table, sitting down across from JJ.

"No loverboy today?" Emily asked.

She shook her head. "He's home sick today. Spence, do you need a ride home today?"

"I'm actually tutoring Emily in the library after school and she's going to drive me home after. Something about Charlie Brown noises when her teacher was talking?" He shrugged it off, opening up his potato.

JJ laughed. "Sounds like you two are going to have fun."

Emily smirked. "Oh yes, but something else is coming first for him."

Spencer gave her a look. "_Really_?"

"I'm sorry, but it's exciting news."

JJ looked between the two of them. "...What is exciting news?"

He exhaled, opening up his bag and holding out the paper to her. "I got a note in my locker."

"How romantic," she said, opening it up and reading it, gasping. "Spence! So you're going to do it? You'll talk to him."

"I guess?" he reached out, taking the paper from her and putting it back into his bag. "I figure maybe if I see him and I talk this out with him, we can figure it out. I think that maybe e-mail felt too impersonal after that night and that might be why we haven't talked." He sighed. "Wish me luck?"

"All the good luck in the world is wished on you," JJ said, reaching out and rubbing his arm. "I hope it works out for you."

He smiled slightly. "Me too."

* * *

At the end of the day, Emily met up with Spencer at his locker. "So are you going to do it?"

He nodded. "I thought it over all day, and I'm going to see him. I'll talk to him, see his side of things."

She patted his back. "Proud of you. Where do you want to meet after?"

"Table in the back of the library, by the reference section?"

"Sounds good. Let me know how it goes?"

"I will." He put his bag over his shoulder, smiling to himself and motioning toward the locker room. "Here goes nothing."

* * *

**Derek/Penelope**

Derek had been busy the last couple of days trying to get his work done without bothering 187, so he didn't have time to himself, let alone to get in touch with Penelope about who he could be. He finally sat down beside her at lunch, wrapping an arm around her and kissing the top of her forehead.

"Hey, beautiful," he said, looking down at his tray and picking up his pizza slice, taking a bite.

She wrinkled her nose. "How can you eat that? It's disgusting."

"Don't tell me this is another vegetarian thing. I told you, I'm not giving up meat."

She shook her head. "This is a 'that's barely even food' thing."

He shrugged, taking another bite. "Tastes fine to me."

"Have fun with your head in a toilet later," she said, opening the foil for her baked potato.

"You only live once, princess."

She pinched him. "No 'yolo'ing at the table."

He rubbed his arm, sighing. "So, did you find out?"

She nodded before looking around the crowded cafeteria. "But not here. After school, my place, so you have some privacy?"

He thought about it before nodding, opening his pudding cup. "Sounds good. Have I said you're amazing yet?"

"Once or twice."

* * *

After lunch, the two went to their lockers to swap out their books.

"Love note?" Penelope asked, pointing to something tucked into the slot of his locker.

He raised an eyebrow, reaching up and taking it, unfolding it. "Blackhawk - meet me in the guy's locker room today after school - 187." He turned to Penelope. "This can't be serious."

She squealed excitedly. "Oh, he wants to meet you, this is so romantic! Please tell me you're gonna do it."

He eyed the note again. It didn't sound like 187. He didn't have good memories when it came to sports, so he didn't know why he'd want to meet in a locker room of all places.

"What's wrong? Why the doubt?"

He sighed. "He doesn't like sports. He wouldn't choose a locker room to meet me. He's more the type to choose a coffee shop or a library or something-"

"Maybe he knows this will ensure privacy since none of the club sports have practice today?" she offered.

He tucked the note into his pocket. "Maybe. I guess we'll see."

She smiled. "I guess we will."

* * *

After their last class, Penelope nudged him. "So? Is it gonna happen?"

He nodded. "I figure I should. If he's willing to look past all of his childhood sports memories to meet me in a locker room, he must be serious. I'll meet you at your place after?"

She smiled. "Sure, but can it wait until about 3:30ish? I'm planning on going to the school newspaper meeting and giving them a few notes on formatting because dear Lord that thing is horrible."

"Sounds good." He kissed the top of her head, looking up at the clock. "I'm running late. See you soon."

"Bye, Romeo!" she called after him and he waved back to her before heading to the locker rooms.

* * *

**Spencer**

He paced outside of the locker room for a few minutes, trying to find the strength to open the door and walk inside. Blackhawk knew how he felt about anything associated with sports, so wondered why he'd had the idea to meet in a locker room of all places. Whatever the case may be, he had to give himself the necessary push to walk inside. After a few minutes, he walked inside, leaning against a locker and closing his eyes, exhaling and preparing himself for the conversation to follow.

He walked in to find it completely empty. Wondering if Blackhawk was just running a few minutes late, he sat on one of the benches, putting his hands in his lap and eyeing the clock. His leg started to twitch nervously as a couple of minutes went by and he still wasn't there. After the conversations they had at the Halloween dance, surely he wasn't going to stand him up. He couldn't. He sat there, his eyes closed, taking deep breaths and willing him to just show up already.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that the door opened again, and Spencer heard several sets of footprints. He raised an eyebrow, wondering if he'd been wrong and there was actually a team practice today.

"September 9th, 8:47 p.m. Blackhawk, I know you don't believe in yourself, but you need to remember that I do. It might not seem like much, but I have faith that you can do anything you set your mind to," one of them read out. Spencer paused, wondering how someone else had gotten access to the e-mails.

"September 12th, 9:28 p.m.," another spoke up. "Blackhawk, you often sell yourself short. I understand that there's a lot of pressure on you to do well, but you know that you're a good, intelligent person. Remember that and you won't need to worry so much."

"September 24th, 1:10 a.m. Blackhawk, we've talked until the early hours of the morning again. I have to say I am genuinely enjoying your company. Thank you for all of these great conversations. I'm so glad I have someone like you to open up to."

Spencer swallowed the growing lump in his throat. "How did you get those?" he said, practically a whisper.

One of them held up several copies of the e-mails, smirking. "Your buddy Blackhawk shouldn't have predictable passwords. Now come on, Reid, look at me."

He shook his head. "I won't show you any fear. I won't be intimidated by you."

"October 12th, 4:59 p.m. Blackhawk, I understand this relationship is strictly professional, but I can't help but wonder what would happen if we ever met. We could've possibly met at school before and neither of us would've known." He laughed. "Derek Morgan meet _you_? And what would he want with you, huh? You've seen the 10s he's dated. What the _hell_ would he want you for?"

Spencer bit down on his lip, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He wasn't going to let them win.

"I think in his mind, he lives in a magical place where Derek swings that way and would actually want someone like him. Poor kid's delusional just like his mother."

Spencer stood up, balling his fists and glaring at them. "Don't talk about something you don't understand."

"Careful, he's sensitive about his Mommy," one of them teased. Spencer lunged forward and he held up the copied e-mails. "I wonder what the entire school would think if I put these up for them to read tomorrow morning, right next to a picture of you so they know who _Geniusof187_ really is. I think they'd be entertained."

"You wouldn't," Spencer said.

He shrugged. "I already have. I'm sure you'll have a _great_ day at school tomorrow."

Spencer went to lunge at him again and one of them grabbed him by the shirt, slamming him against a locker. "Not so fast."

* * *

**Derek**

He paced the hallway near the gym several times, trying to give himself the push he needed to go into the locker room. He didn't know why, but he was a whole new level of nervous over finally meeting 187. He cracked his knuckles and paced a few more times before taking a deep breath, walking over to the locker room door and pushing it open.

Once he walked inside, he saw several of his hockey teammates ganged up on a kid, who showed definite signs of being shoved around and hit.

"What the hell's going on in here?" Derek yelled.

"Good, you got our note. We just wanted you to have your reunion." One of them stepped up to Derek, putting his arm over his shoulders. "Glad you could make it."

"What are you talking about, Evans?"

He smiled, patting Derek's chest. "Derek Morgan, or should I say _Blackhawk_, this right here is your Zorro, also known as Spencer Reid. Wait, I'm sorry, that's not the name he used. Here's your _187._"

Derek looked over and saw the kid he was motioning toward, wondering if this was all a joke. Then he saw his eyes. Though they were sad, they were the eyes he'd stared into at the Halloween dance - the eyes he fell in love with.

"Oh _shit_," Derek whispered, eyes going wide.

Evans shoved him again, laughing. "That's what I said. Come on, this beanpole actually thought you were interested in him, that you _loved_ him. Can you believe that?"

He swallowed, looking the kid over again. "What did you do?"

We took care of him for you," he said, patting his chest. "You're welcome. Want to give him a talking to yourself?"

Derek swallowed, stepping up to him, and he couldn't ignore the way he flinched. He looked at him apologetically, not able to find a single word to say to him to truly say how sorry he was for this. There were several times that he had confided in Derek about his bullying, and Derek had promised that if he could, he'd find a way to protect him. He knew he let him down. He didn't know what he could possibly do to fix this situation, so he just stood there, stunned.

Spencer blinked a few times, waiting for a reaction from Derek that never came. He knew that he wasn't behind the attack on him, but the fact that he didn't say a single word to defend him or to reprimand his teammates spoke volumes. He took a few deep breaths before shaking his head, grabbing his backpack off of the ground in the locker room and running out, closing the door behind him.

All of his teammates laughed, and Derek was furious. They thought this was _funny_?

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked, looking around at them.

"The kid thought you _loved_ him, Morgan. He's delusional just like his sick as fuck mother. And by tomorrow morning, the whole school will know about him and how much he loves you."

"What did you do?" he whispered.

"You really need better password security, Derek," one of them said, patting his shoulder. "They're just far too easy to guess."

He shoved his hand off. "Good luck covering your asses on the ice this year, because I may be captain, but I sure as _hell_ am not protecting a single one of you after this. He didn't do anything to you and you beat him up? What does that prove, huh? You beat up a kid half your body weight, bravo."

"Woah, Derek, what's up with you, you love the kid or something?"

Derek shook his head, putting up his hands. "I'm done." He walked out, hoping to find Spencer so he could talk to him and tell him the truth. He checked the gyms, the classrooms nearby, and even outside, but saw no trace of him. He sighed, taking out his phone and texting Penelope, telling her he'd meet her at her place when she got home.

* * *

**Spencer**

He felt it coming from a mile away. It had been ages since he'd had one, but he was going to have a panic attack, and it was going to be _bad_. He absolutely had to get out of the locker room before he had it in there and gave them another reason to insult him. Then Derek Morgan walked in, saw what happened, and didn't say a word to him. He just looked right at him and felt sorry for him. No, he absolutely couldn't handle this. He grabbed his bag and got out of there as fast as he could. He ran as far as his legs would take him and ducked into a classroom, closing the door behind him and leaning against the wall, sliding down it. He buried his head in his hands and tried to put his head between his knees, taking deep breaths.

He didn't feel the first tears fall, but when he felt his cheeks were wet, he knew they did. He wiped at his cheeks, shaking his head and trying to calm himself down. He couldn't be falling to pieces. Not now. He had to calm down so he could help Emily with her math homework and the get a ride home. He needed to.

* * *

**Penelope**

At first, she thought she was imagining the noises as she walked back from the newspaper meeting. It was heavy breathing and sobbing, and she was sure it was in her head until it got louder. Listening for a minute, she followed the sound to an empty classroom. Seeing that all of the lights were off, she opened the door.

"...Is anyone in here?" she called out, walking in.

Spencer heard the clicking of the heels, but couldn't find it in him to form a single syllable, so he just raised his hand, trying to catch his breath.

She walked over, squatting down beside him. "This is probably a beyond dumb question, but are you okay?"

He quickly shook his head, putting his hands on the back of his neck.

She put a hand under his arm. "Come on, there's better places for it." When he shook his head again, she sighed. "I want to help you, sweetie, I do, but these heels don't make for comfortable squatting, and this gross floor isn't doing you any favors. Do you think you can make it to the guidance office with me? It's just down the hall."

He nodded slightly, letting her help him up and walk him down the hall. She walked into the office after picking the lock, sitting him down in a comfortable chair and taking the seat beside him.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked, rubbing his back.

He shook his head, taking a deep breath and exhaling.

She rubbed circles on his back. "Good, that's great. Put your arms up for me?"

He looked at her, curious, but the look in her eyes told him to trust her. He took a breath, putting his arms in the air.

She nodded. "Good, now back down."

From his prior research, he knew that repetitive motion took the mind off of the panic and onto something else, so he did what he was told until his breathing was back to a somewhat normal level.

"Good, that's great," she assured him, patting his back, digging through her purse with her other hand. She took out a bottle of water, opening it and handing it to him. "Hydrate, it'll do you some good."

He swallowed, reaching out and taking the bottle, taking a sip and handing it back to her, allowing her to put the cap back on.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" When he shook his head, she patted his hand. "Then I guess I'll just sit here and wait this out with you. I've had my fair share of panic attacks before, and I know some good old fashioned company helps."

"Thank you," he said softly a few minutes later.

She gave him a smile. "Don't mention it." She reached for a tissue and wet it, wiping off his face. "What brought it on, if you don't mind me asking?"

He sighed. "Just… anxiety," he put plainly, running a hand through his hair and sighing.

She handed the water bottle back to him. "It's a bitch, trust me, I know. What's your name, sweetie?"

He bit his lip before taking a sip of water, swallowing it. "Spencer," he whispered. "Spencer Reid."

She paused before rubbing his back again. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Spencer Reid. I'm Penelope Garcia, and I've been your mother bear for the past twenty minutes."

He smiled slightly, finishing off the water bottle and putting it into the recycling bin.

"Are you going to need a ride home or something, hon, or is someone picking you up?"

He cleared his throat. "My friend's waiting for me in the library."

"Then if you don't mind, I'd like to walk you there, make sure you're okay."

He shrugged. "Okay."

"Do you need me to make someone's digital world a living hell? I could do it, I promise."

He shook his head, swallowing. "No, thank you."

"Just let me know if you need it."

He nodded slightly and they got up, walking out and to the library doors.

Emily ran up to him. "Jesus, Reid, what happened? I was coming to look for you."

He bit his lip, suddenly realizing that it was split and wincing. "It was nothing."

"He had a bad moment," Penelope said, before holding out her hand, "Penelope Garcia, mother bear extraordinaire." She pointed to Spencer. "Are you the one meeting up with him?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Make sure he makes it home okay," she said, taking Spencer's phone from his pocket and putting her number in. "And you," she started, pointing to Spencer again, "call me if there's another problem."

He nodded slightly and watched as she walked away.

Penelope took out her phone, texting Derek.

_You have a HELL of a lot of explaining to do_. She looked at the walls and saw they had several sheets of paper taped on them, she ripped them down and, seeing what they were, made it her mission to tear down every single one of them before leaving school that day. _You'd better be waiting at my house when I get there or so help me God, Derek Morgan, I will tear you a new one._

* * *

**Spencer**

"Emily, I'm fine," he insisted, opening up her math textbook. "What was it you were stuck on?"

She shoved the book away, grabbing his chin and turning his face toward her. "Who did this to you? Was this Derek Morgan?"

He quickly shook his head. "No, and I'm fine."

"No, you're not." She looked him over and sighed. "Please tell me you at least saw who did it."

"I don't know names," he admitted, pulling the book back over to him and swallowing.

"Then you can at least report it to the discipline office."

"And what? They're athletes, they'll get let off with a warning and everyone in the whole school will know that I'm the one who put our team in danger for the season, because if they have one more infraction, they're off the team," he snapped.

"And that's their own fucking fault!" she yelled. She winced when the librarian shushed her and whispered an apology. "You didn't deserve this," she said softly, "and you need to tell someone it happened. I don't know, maybe if you come clean to Derek Morgan, he can talk to them."

Spencer scoffed. "He didn't say a word to me, so no thank you."

"...He _saw_ this?"

He exhaled, nodding. "Walked in on it and got them to stop, but didn't say a single word to me. Not even a trace of an apology. Now, if you'll excuse me, the world keeps turning, life goes on, and you're bad at math."

She sighed, opening the textbook to the section and opening her notebook, letting him help her out.

* * *

Once he was sure she had a handle on it, he closed up the textbook. "Can I still get that ride home?"

"Of course," she said, patting his back softly, noticing when he winced. "Do you need anything?"

He shook his head. "Just my bed and some Tylenol. I'll be fine. Please don't tell JJ?"

She sighed. "Spencer, she's your neighbor, and on top of that, she drives you to school in the morning. She's going to notice and then be on my ass for not telling her."

He swallowed, putting his backpack over his shoulder. "Fine, but when you do, tell her I'm home and sleeping it off so she doesn't wake me up?"

"That I can do."

On the drive home, she turned to him. "Want to tell me what happened?"

"Not particularly," he said, staring out the window.

"It's better than having to tell JJ?" she offered.

He exhaled, chewing on his cheek. "I showed up, I waited, and a bunch of jocks showed up with printed out copies of our e-mails, and they read them to me. Apparently, he had an easy to guess password and that's how they got in." He cleared his throat. "They grabbed me, threw me into a locker, hit me a few times, insulted me, then Derek walked in. He was just as clueless as I was about it being a set-up. He was pissed at them, but didn't say anything and he was just stunned. I felt a panic attack coming on, so I left, ran for a classroom, and closed the door. That's when she found me, she calmed me down, and made sure someone was there for me."

She sighed. "Well, he may be a dick, but at least he's got decent friends." She reached over, taking his hand and squeezing it. "I'm really sorry this didn't work out for you."

He nodded. "Me too. And tomorrow morning, everyone in the school is going to know. They plastered the school with printouts and sent them to everyone they knew." He glanced over at her. "If you don't want to associate with me anymore I'll understand and won't be offended. Honestly."

She shook her head. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me. Outcast is usually my thing anyway," she said, winking at him and smiling. "No matter what happens tomorrow, I've got your back. JJ too."

"She could do better," he pointed out.

"No, she couldn't, and she's going to stand by you, just like she always has, just like she always will. I promise." She parked in front of his house. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

He nodded, picking up his backpack. "...Thank you."

"It's not a problem at all," she said. "Take something, shower, and get some _sleep_."

"Don't need to tell me twice," he mumbled, closing the door behind him and walking into his house.

Emily sighed, and once the coast was clear, backed into JJ's driveway.


	5. Chapter 5

**Penelope  
**She drove up to her house to find Derek waiting on the front steps. After everything she saw over the last half hour, she was going to give him a piece of her mind. Getting out of her car, she walked over, grabbing him by the front of the shirt and walking inside, closing the door behind her.

"...Hello to you too?" he said, sitting on the couch.

She shook her head. "I'm not in a 'hello' sort of mood right now," she said, crossing her arms.

"So I take it this isn't about your raid of the newspaper meeting?" he guessed.

"Look, there _is_ a brain in there!" she said, standing in front of him. "Now, you want to tell me what the hell happened, or should I go off of what I know?"

He looked at her, confused. "What?"

"I found flyers," she said, taking a few out of her bag and holding them out to him, "plastered on every single surface in the school, and I took it upon myself to tear every single one of them down. They all have Spencer Reid's face plastered on them, and they're copies of _your_ conversations with him."

He took them from her, looking through them and sighing. "Damnit."

"And your reputation? You'll be fine. But this poor kid? This is flushing everything he's worked for down the tubes."

"That's not my fault."

"I was there, Derek. I found him, curled up in the fetal position on the floor of an English classroom, bawling his eyes out and in the middle of a panic attack. How did what was supposed to be the greatest day of both of your lives turn into him bruised, bloodied up, and crying?"

He sighed, running a hand over his scalp. "Some of the guys on the hockey team hacked into my e-mail, printed everything off, and they heard some of his friends talking in the library about it. They put two and two together and set this up."

"Set _what_ up?" she snapped.

He swallowed, chewing on his cheek. "I walked in on them reading the e-mails to him, threatening him, and he'd already been beaten up. There's nothing I could've done."

"So you didn't even _try?!_" she yelled. "Derek, you paint yourself as this great knight in shining armor, and you mean to tell me that your reputation as the big, strong hockey player was more important than him?"

"You're the one that wanted my reputation to stay in tact!" he argued.

She shook her head. "That doesn't mean you stop being a decent human being! Your reputation shouldn't come at the expense of a poor 17-year-old who has been screwed over by life over and over again. His name and _his_ reputation are gone, because you needed to protect _yours._ You talked to him, Derek. I saw these e-mails. I know he confided in you about being bullied and needing the job to help with his mother's medical expenses and you promised him, you _promised_ him that you would keep him out of danger if you ever had the chance. You fucked him over, you helped ruin his life, you said nothing to the people who hurt him, and you just let it happen. And you mean to tell me you're _okay_ with that?"

"I told them I'm not covering them this hockey season. They're on their own."

She gasped. "Oh, you won't protect them on the ice when they're covered in padding and other equipment. Wow, you really showed them!"

Both of their phones went off and Derek sighed, taking his phone out of his pocket and checking the message. "..._Shit_."

"...Shit what?"

He bit his lip, turning his phone around to her. "Message from 'Anonymous', attached are files named 'Who is 187?'. Your efforts weren't enough."

She groaned loudly, pacing back and forth in her living room before yelling. "Derek Morgan, you need to figure out your next move because this poor kid is about to face more ridicule than he ever did, and it's kind of your fault."

"I didn't _give_ them my passwords and I didn't _encourage_ this!"

"It still happened!" she shouted. "Are you going to protect him or not?" He opened his mouth to respond, but she put her hand up. "If you won't. I will." She walked over, opening her front door. "Get out and figure out your next move."

He sighed, getting up and looking at her. "I tried, Baby Girl," he assured her. "I did."

"Sometimes, trying just isn't enough," she told him. "Now I want you to go."

He took a deep breath, nodding and walking out, closing the door behind him.

* * *

**Emily**

She walked up to JJ's front door, knocking repeatedly.

"I see your car, come on, answer the door," she mumbled to herself, waiting for JJ to answer.

JJ opened the door, looking at Emily and raising an eyebrow. "...Hey. Did you drive Spence home? How did it go?"

She motioned toward the living room. "We need to talk. Are your parents home?"

"...No, they're still at work until 5. Why?"

She walked inside closing the door behind her and turning to JJ. "This is bad."

"What's bad? What happened?"

She sighed, sitting on the couch and looking up at her. "It wasn't Derek Morgan waiting for him. It was the entire hockey team. They set him up, they read the e-mails, told him they're going to release them to the entire school, beat the crap out of him, and when Derek Morgan found out? He said nothing."

JJ gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. "No."

She nodded slightly. "Pushed Spencer into a panic attack. Of all people, Penelope Garcia found him crying in a classroom and calmed him down. _Why_ would she do that?"

"She may be on top of the popularity chain because she's friends with Derek Morgan, but she's a really good person," she explained, sitting beside Emily. "She's an old friend of mine. We don't talk all the time, but she's got my back. She'd take the jacket off of her back to give it to a complete stranger so it doesn't surprise me at all she took care of Spence." She ran a hand through her hair. "How bad is he?"

"Over the course of the tutoring session I tried to insist I didn't need, I saw some bruises. He split his lip and he was careful of his ribs. He's in pretty rough shape."

JJ groaned. "He should've trusted his gut. He shouldn't have gone and just should've answered an e-mail."

"They still got the e-mails, Jayje. This would've happened sooner or later."

She swallowed. "I um, I'm going to check on him later on. I'll let you know how he's doing."

"I appreciate that."

Seconds later, both of their phones went off.

JJ raised an eyebrow. "That's something out of Pretty Little Liars," she mumbled, digging her phone out of her bag and picking it up, checking her messages. "..._Damn_." She turned her phone around to show Emily. "Anonymous e-mail, titled 'Who is 187?'." She sank back on the couch, shaking her head. "He's going to be ruined after this. Everyone's going to know, his business is going to go to hell, and he's going to be bullied again, despite my best efforts."

Emily shook her head. "I hate Derek Morgan."

"Get in line."

Emily nodded, sighing and eyeing JJ. "We're going to take care of him."

"How? We're two girls and he's got the entire school against him."

She shrugged. "Get Will on it, it can be 4 against the world. We'll walk him to class, pick him up after class, walk him _everywhere_, text him to check on him, and try to always have an eye on him."

"We can't protect him forever," JJ started, "but I'll do it as long as I can."

Emily rubbed her back. "We'll do our best."

She nodded slightly, resting her head on the back of the couch and groaning. "How much trouble would I get in for slapping Derek Morgan?"

"You'd _probably_ lose your chance at a soccer scholarship. Me, however? I'd be suspended for a couple of days. I'm thinking it'd be worth it."

* * *

**Spencer**

He limped into the house to find his mother was, thankfully, asleep. He grabbed a few of ice packs from the freezer and threw them on his bed before walking to the bathroom, taking out the antibiotic cream. He took in his injuries and winced, screwing off the cap and applying it as needed. He then opened the cabinet, opening the Tylenol and taking a few, swallowing them. He went to his room, lying down on his bed and grabbing the ice packs, putting one against his face, another on his side, and the last one on his leg.

He put his arm over his eyes, sighing. The last hour of his life was just playing in his head over and over again. How had they set him up so well? How had he been so gullible and fallen for the trick? How was he so smart, yet so stupid?

More importantly, why didn't Derek Morgan say anything when they told him exactly who he was? He had sent numerous e-mails trying to figure out who exactly he was, and when he was given the chance to say something to him, he stayed silent. He could've done something, anything really, but nothing happened. Not that he saw, and he couldn't imagine why.

When a notification sound went off on his computer, he knew exactly what it was. He sighed, resting his head against his pillow and closing his eyes. Come tomorrow morning, everyone at school would know exactly who he was. He wouldn't be the mysterious tutor who saved their GPAs and helped them out of tight spots. He wouldn't be that kid who's at the top of the class where nobody else could even dream of touching his grades. He wouldn't be that kid people accidentally bump into in the hallway. No, come tomorrow morning, he would be 'that kid who tried to hit on Derek Morgan'. Derek's reputation would remain completely intact and he could play the victim, while Spencer? He'd be the laughing stock with a giant target on his back. For the first time in a very long time, Spencer wanted nothing to do with school the next day.

It was a few hours later when Spencer heard a knocking on his door. He groaned, pushing off the ice packs and getting out of bed, walking to the front door and looking through the peephole, seeing JJ standing there with a bag in hand. He sighed, unlocking the front door and pulling it open, looking at her.

"I'm not in the mood to be social right now, JJ. Another time?"

She took one look at his face and stepped inside, motioning toward the couch. "Sit."

"...Excuse me?"

"_Sit_."

He looked at her, confused, before walking over to the couch and sitting down. "Emily told you." It wasn't a question, it was a fact.

She nodded slightly. "I'm not here to do the pity thing, because I know if I did, you'd kick me right out of the house. Mom sleeping?"

"Yeah, Doctor Norman was able to change her medication, and as she's getting used to the new dosage, she's tired, so luckily she didn't see any of this."

"Are you going to tell her?" she asked, sitting beside him.

He exhaled. "If I think she's having a good day, yes. If not, I just got scuffed up on a job." He glanced up at her. "Why are you here?"

"For myself, to know you're okay," she started, digging through the bag and taking out a container, "and to feed you because my mom thinks you're getting too thin."

He smiled slightly, opening it. "Her and everyone else," he mumbled, picking up a fork and eating.

They had been quiet for a few minutes before JJ spoke up. "...Have you thought about what you're going to do tomorrow?"

He swallowed his food, shaking his head. "Not yet. I think sticking to my superpower of invisibility seems like the best option."

She licked her lips, thinking to herself. "I know you're not going to like it, but Emily and I have a plan."

"If it involves getting the faculty involved, forget it. I don't know any names and I'm not singlehandedly taking down our hockey team."

She sighed. "No, though I wish you would. Anyway, we're going to walk you to all of your classes. When your class lets out, we'll be at the door waiting for you, walk you to class, then go to our own classes. We don't want to give anyone any chances to corner you and make this whole situation somehow worse than it is."

He thought it over before nodding. "Okay. I take it the viral e-mails went out."

"...Unfortunately."

He looked down at his food, pushing it around with his fork. "Did you read them?"

She quickly shook her head. "No. Those are your private thoughts and they're none of my business. If everyone else in the school wants to be an indecent jerk, they can, but I'm not joining their ranks."

"...Thank you."

She reached over, rubbing his back, being more careful when he winced. "And I got a text from Penelope Garcia… she told me she took care of you, and removed all of the copies of the e-mails that they had taped around the school."

"Thank her for me," he said softly, setting his container on the table.

"I already did." She grabbed the container, putting it into the bag. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm just going to grab a few more ice packs from the freezer and go to bed. Are you picking me up tomorrow morning?"

"You bet. Bright and early." She leaned over, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing his back. "If you need me, I'm right next door, okay?" He nodded against her shoulder and she got up, grabbing her bag and waving to him before walking out.

He got off of the couch, locking the front door, before walking to the freezer and grabbing some new ice packs. He went to his room, grabbed the old ones, put those into the freezer, then laid down in his bed, putting them over his side and his face. He stared up at the ceiling for only a few minutes before the exhaustion of the day had gotten to him and he fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Spencer**

His alarm went off far too early for his liking. He was hoping that he could sleep through his alarm and just go straight to the weekend. He shut off his alarm and laid in his bed, looking up at the ceiling and sighing. What was the point? He was already light years ahead of the rest of his class. He'd done all of the required reading, finished the assignments, taken most of the tests. Why did he _need_ to get out of bed and physically be at school? His perfect attendance record didn't really matter to him anymore, considering the day he was going to have. No, staying in bed definitely felt like the better option.

A few minutes later, he heard a knock on the door and knew it had to be JJ. He didn't care at this point and he was going to stay in bed to avoid bullying worse than he'd ever experienced. He heard his mother open the slide lock and groaned to himself, burying his head in his pillow.

"Hi, Mrs. Reid. I'm here to pick up Spence for school, but I think he might still be sleeping?"

She held the door open. "Go on and wake him up. He was probably up late studying or doing some of that work he insists on doing."

"Thanks, I'll be right down."

Spencer heard the footsteps approaching his room and shook his head. He wasn't leaving his bed. He felt the bed dip next to him and sighed.

"Doing okay today?" she said softly, rubbing his back.

He shook his head, turning his head to face her and swallowing. "I'm not going in today."

"Spence, you can't hide in your room forever. You need to face this."

"Says the person who hasn't been bullied a day in their life."

She sighed, rubbing his back. "No, I don't know what it's like, and I'm sorry that this has to happen, but I'm going to be here for you. So is Emily and so is Will."

"Four people against the entire student body? I don't like these odds."

"It's better than nothing," she pointed out. "Come on, you're Spencer Reid, you don't know _how_ to miss a day of school. You've gone to school with a fever of 102 and refused to leave until noon, because that's when it wouldn't be counted against your attendance record."

He shrugged slightly. "Priorities change."

She got up, going through his dressers.

"What are you doing?"

She grabbed a pair of boxers and some pants, throwing them on the bed. Then she opened another drawer, taking out a shirt and his jacket, tossing them over, along with a pair of mismatched socks. "That's your outfit today. Get your backpack, get ready, and I'll meet you in my car in five minutes."

"...And if I don't?" he asked, looking through the clothes she picked.

She shrugged. "If you don't, I'll just have to come in here, grab you at whatever stage of dressed you are, and throw you in my car." She gave him a smile. "Clock's ticking, come on." She walked out, closing the door behind her and going outside.

Not wanting to test JJ, he got dressed and put his backpack on his shoulder, wincing slightly and walking out to the hallway.

"Mom, I don't have any jobs today, so I'll be home normal time," he told her, keeping his face hidden from her.

"Have a good day, dear."

He smiled slightly. "I'll try." He walked out and got into JJ's car, getting into the passenger seat and buckling himself in, looking over at her. "Satisfied?"

"Very." She reached in her backseat, grabbing a baseball cap and putting it on his head. "Here, I think you'll need this."

He took it off, looking at it. "What's the 'B' stand for?"

She shook her head. "High IQ and you don't know the Red Sox symbol. For shame." She put it back onto his head. "It'll help you duck your head in crowds and _hopefully_ avoid some criticism."

"...Thank you."

She nodded, patting his head, before starting the car and driving to school.

* * *

JJ pulled up in front of Emily's house, parking and honking the horn.

"What are you doing?" Spencer asked, turning to her.

"I told you, we're protecting you," she said, "and the best way to do that is to walk into school with you together."

"You didn't tell Will, did you?"

"...He got the e-mail," she started, wringing her hands on the steering wheel, "and right after? He called to tell me he's going to meet us at school."

He swallowed, nodding slightly. "At least I have some people in my corner. How are you going to walk me to all of my classes?"

"We have a method, don't worry about it."

Emily got into the backseat, setting her backpack on the floor in front of her. "Ready for this?"

He shook his head. "Not in the slightest."

"Too bad," JJ told him, patting his shoulder and pulling out, driving.

"What about your popularity?" Spencer asked, turning to JJ.

She shrugged. "What about it?"

"Well, I don't exactly think you walking around with and protecting the laughing stock of the entire school is going to do you any good."

"In just over six months, I never need to see or deal with most of these people again. If they can't accept me because of who I'm friends with? I don't want to waste my time with them."

He swallowed. "If you want to keep your friends, JJ, I'll completely understand."

"_Definitely_ not! I'm not going to abandon you when you need somebody the most, Spence. Absolutely not."

"But your popularity-"

"Forget about it. I don't care anymore what a bunch of shallow people are going to think of me because I'm being a good friend." She reached over, patting his head. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

He smiled appreciatively, watching out the window and sighing. "Why didn't I skip that extra grade? I could be in college right now and none of this ever would've happened."

Emily pouted. "Then you wouldn't have us to keep you company," she said, patting his back, "and come on, admit it, we're pretty great."

He shrugged. "Well, you're not horrible."

"That may just be the greatest compliment I've ever received from a man!" Emily said, putting a hand to her chest. "Be still my heart!" He laughed to himself and Emily smirked, patting his arm. "You'll be okay. We're here for you."

He nodded, patting her hand and sighing.

* * *

When they pulled up to the school, he took a deep breath, exhaling.

JJ turned to look at him, taking his hand and squeezing it. "You okay?"

He shook his head, swallowing and chewing on his cheek. "I'm not as strong as I thought and I absolutely can not do this."

Emily got out, opening his door and looking at him. "You can do this, Spencer. I know you don't think so, but you have it in you. We're going to be here for you, and your skin is much thicker than you think. Now come on, in seven hours, you'll be out of here."

He ran a hand over his face. "I dislike everyone in that school right now."

"Welcome to the club." She took his hand, pulling him up. She adjusted his cap before turning to JJ. "Ready?"

She nodded, locking her doors and patting Spencer's back, walking toward the school entrance with him.

When they made it through the door, Will turned to JJ, adjusting his backpack. When she nodded, he stood beside her, walking with the three of them down the hallway.

As soon as Spencer was noticed, the entire hallway went silent. He winced to himself, pulling the hat down to cover his eyes as much as possible and freezing in place.

JJ sighed, wrapping her arm around his back. "Come on, Spence, let's get you to class," she whispered, rubbing his back.

He nodded slightly, walking down the hallway and avoiding everyone's eyes as much as he could.

"Nobody's saying anything," he said softly. "Is that good or bad?"

Emily sighed, squeezing his shoulder. "From my experience, it can go either way." They stopped in front of their German class and she looked at JJ. "I'll walk him to Physics, then you'll walk him to English?"

She nodded, giving him a hug and patting his back. "Take care, Spence. I'm just a text away if you need me."

"Thank you," he said softly.

Will eyed him. "Anyone says anything, you let me know, alright?"

He smiled slightly, nodding, and Will wrapped his arm around JJ's shoulder, walking her to her own class.

Emily grabbed Spencer's hand, pulling him into the classroom and taking a seat in the back with him.

* * *

In the middle of their class, the teacher had to leave the classroom to answer a phone call in the office. Spencer sighed, leaning back in his seat and staring up at the ceiling.

Emily chewed on his lip, not knowing what she could say to him to make everything better. Instead, she decided to just let him have his space and listen in around the classroom.

"Yeah, _he_ thought he had a chance with Derek 'the ladies' man' Morgan. Can you believe that? What an _idiot_."

"He sent him love letters and everything. They even had pet names."

"I never noticed the kid before but now that I have? There's _nothing_ Derek Morgan could see in him."

She looked over at Spencer and saw him on the brink of tears, but not letting it show. Instead he crossed his arms on the desk, resting his head against them and sighing.

"I told you, Prentiss, there's nothing you could do with him."

She practically gritted her teeth, turning to face him. "Baker, I'll tell you this once. _Get_ out of my face, now."

He leaned against her desk, smiling. "Well, now you know you don't have a chance. What do you say?"

She glared at him. "I say 'Gehen Sie mit sich selbst zu spielen, schamlos du dummer Junge'." (Go play with yourself, you shameless silly boy.) She frowned. "And judging by your face, it looks to me like you have no idea what that means, because you're too busy trying to get laid, which probably _never_ happens, to do your homework." She tsked. "Shame. Now, try pushing my buttons one more time, I dare you."

He put up his hands, walking away and she sighed, leaning back in her seat.

Turning to face Spencer, she saw him with a small smile on his face and he mouthed a 'Thank you'. She nodded, giving him a thumbs up and doodling in her notebook.

* * *

**Derek**

He dreaded going to school that morning. He'd tried to fake sick, but his mother saw right through it and told him to get ready for school. Penelope hadn't talked to him all night, which had been weird, considering they called or at least texted each other every single night to talk and make plans. He wondered if she was actually genuinely mad at him for something he absolutely couldn't control. He'd stopped them from hurting Spencer any worse than they had and told them he wouldn't protect them this hockey season - that was a hell of a lot of defense for him. Then again, he didn't find him after, he didn't talk to him, and he didn't so much as send him an e-mail to check on him. Sighing to himself, he got out of bed and got dressed, grabbing his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder.

After some breakfast, he drove to school, thinking the whole time about how the day would go. Everyone got those e-mails last night. He'd gotten a copy of them, along with a picture of Spencer, sent to him last night, and the number of names on the list was too many to count for him. He read through to see just how much they'd revealed and hated the fact that it was a good amount. Spencer had trusted him and he'd definitely let him down. Now, he knew that he was definitely going to be an outcast and his popularity status would be gone, though he couldn't say he'd mind that too much.

Once he got to school, he spent a few minutes in his car, thinking to himself. He had to keep his name clean until he got a scholarship, but he also couldn't imagine flushing this kid's reputation down the drain to save himself. Penelope had told him that his reputation was important, but also said that it shouldn't come at the price of Spencer's. Groaning, he ran a hand over his face before sighing, grabbing his backpack and getting out of the car.

Walking through the doors, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to expect, but what he got blew him away. People acknowledged him, smiled at him, _liked_ him. It seemed that even after what everyone read about him, they didn't care and still wanted to be around him. He wasn't sure how to take it, but for now, he was going to embrace the comfort of what was normal to him. He kept a nervous smile on his face and went to his first class, as if it was just another day in school.

* * *

When he was in his first class of the day with Penelope, he turned to her. "Everything okay?"

She reached in her pocket, taking out an earbud and putting it in, resting her hand against that ear and leaning that arm on the desk.

"Come on, Penelope," he whispered, "you've got to talk to me about this."

"We already talked," she said shortly, flipping through her textbook and taking notes.

He ripped out a paper from his notebook and wrote a note to her.

_P - I really need to talk to you. Please don't shut me out. - D_

She opened it up and shook her head, writing her response before throwing it back at him.

_You know why I'm mad, and you know what you need to do to make this right._

_And what's that?_

This time, she threw the paper at him as hard as she could. He caught it and opened it up, reading.

_You need to go to the principal and tell who exactly was behind attacking him so they get in trouble for what they did to him. He didn't deserve that and you know it._

He exhaled, tapping his pen against the paper before writing.

_I can't put the hockey team in jeopardy before the season starts._

_You can have auditions or try-outs or whatever it is. You're not screwing them and at this point, you just look like a jackass._

He ran a hand over his face, sighing. She was absolutely right. He could definitely take the high road and fix this, but instead, he was being weak. Folding up the note and putting it into his backpack, he tuned back into his class, though the back of his mind was nagging him that Spencer was probably having a much worse day than he was.

* * *

**Spencer**

He saw JJ waiting outside of his class when the bell rang and sighed, making sure to be the first one out.

She wrapped an arm around him. "How goes it?"

He shrugged, fixing the hat. "I don't know, let's start with I'm an idiot, I'm pathetic, I'm delusional, I'm a sad joke, and _oh_, this is the real kicker, I'm an absolute fucking fool. That's a direct quote from my last class."

"...Who said it?"

"Like it matters. Everyone else is thinking it, he just said it out loud."

She sighed, patting his back. "Come on, lunch time."

"Fantastic, so I can have a _bigger_ venue for everyone to insult me."

She patted his back. "Not if I can help it."

They made it to their table and sat down without anyone saying anything, and Spencer saw that as a major accomplishment. Unfortunately, shortly after setting his bag down beside him, people would make comments as the walked by. Not only were they the usual insults of 'freak', 'idiot', or 'weirdo', but some interesting slurs had also joined the ranks. He eventually reached a point where he pushed his tray in front of him, resting his arms on the table and burying his head in them.

"Everything okay?" Emily asked. When she saw the look on JJ's face, she sighed. "Dumb question."

JJ rubbed his back. "_Spence_, we don't need to stay here. We can go to the library, outside, the auditorium… you don't need to be in here and let people insult you."

He swallowed, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. A few more hours of it and I can go home."

She eyed Emily before sighing, rubbing his back. "Can I get you anything? Some Tylenol, some ice-"

"...A sledgehammer to beat people with?" Emily suggested.

He just shook his head, keeping it down and wishing lunch to go by faster.

* * *

**Derek**

He hadn't seen Spencer all day, so he didn't know if he was being treated any differently. Penelope was still giving him a serious case of the cold shoulder, and probably couldn't get her to have a complete conversation with him if his life absolutely depended on it. Once he was in the cafeteria and had his lunch, he grabbed his tray and took his usual seat, looking around the cafeteria and hoping he'd find him.

He heard the insults before he saw him. People were saying anything and everything they could to get underneath his skin. He finally found his table and sighed to himself when he saw him just give up on trying to keep a straight face, burying his head in his arms and wanting it all to disappear. It actually made his heart hurt to know that he was partially responsible for this and couldn't think of a way to make it right for him.

"This isn't even the worst of it," Hotch said, taking the seat beside him. "He's in my Physics class and a couple of guys wouldn't let up on him. He got a pass from Mr. Murphy and didn't come back from the bathroom for ten minutes."

Derek bit down on his cheek. "Did anyone do or say anything?" he asked, pushing his food around on his plate.

"Murphy was clueless," Hotch informed him. "It pretty much came down to Murphy getting to a point where everyone was talking so loud he couldn't get his points across and basically told everyone to shut up."

"Poor kid," Haley said, sitting next to Hotch, her eyes over on Spencer. "Did you at least let him down easy?" she asked Derek.

He sighed to himself, eyeing his tray. "Can we not?" he asked, opening up his fruit cup.

Hotch nodded, motioning toward Penelope's usual seat. "No Garcia today?"

"She's in the library working on some coding. That's usually code for 'Derek, fuck off'," he told them, eating.

"Maybe I should go check on him," Haley whispered to Hotch.

He shook his head. "He has his friends with him, he'll be fine. I don't think being coddled by a stranger is going to help him."

She frowned, looking over at the table again before sighing, starting on her own lunch.

Derek's mind was nagging him, and it sounded an awful lot like Penelope's voice. It was telling him that he should say something, but then the other side of his conscience would say he needed the scholarship or he wouldn't make it to college. Shaking his head, he finished his lunch and threw away his tray.

"I'll see you guys later," Derek said, putting his backpack over his shoulder, "I need to get some air."

Hotch nodded. "See you soon."

Derek got up and walked to the back doors of the school, stepping outside and leaning against the building, exhaling.

* * *

**Spencer**

He finally reached the end of the worst school day of his life and he couldn't have been more relieved. He saw Emily waiting at the door and walked over, fixing his backpack.

"Was it as bad as you thought?"

He sighed. "Worse than I could've imagined."

She patted his back. "Come on, let's get you home and on ice."

JJ walked up, wrapping her arm around Spencer's shoulder. "Will picked you up before Math, right?"

"Yes, and he's not much of a conversationalist without you around, so it was just two guys awkwardly walking to class together, and considering my current status, it didn't go over too well."

She winced. "I didn't even think - I'm so sorry."

He shrugged it off. "Now you know."

They were halfway to the parking lot when Spencer bumped into somebody, wincing and rubbing his side.

"Sorry," he mumbled, not looking at who he'd walked into.

When they didn't respond, he raised an eyebrow, chancing a look. Of course, of _course_, with over a thousand students in the school, he needed to bump into the _one_ person he didn't want to see.

* * *

**Derek**

His brain hadn't shut up all day, and it was definitely getting to him that he didn't know what he was going to do. Penelope was still avoiding him and barely spoke to him in their shared classes, so he couldn't turn to her for help. Unfortunately, this was going to be something he needed to figure out all on his own. He took his phone out of his pocket, texting Penelope.

_I know, I know, silent treatment, but I could really use a talk right now. Please?_

He tucked his phone into his pocket and bumped into someone in the hallway. He sighed, looking up to see who it was and apologize to them. When he was looking into those eyes, _Spencer's_ eyes, he froze. He couldn't form a word if he tried and he was literally just stuck.

* * *

**Spencer**

The two of them stood there facing each other for a good minute before Spencer moved his gaze to the ground, suddenly finding his shoes interesting.

Derek's mouth hung open but no words were coming out. By now, the two of them had become quite the spectacle, and there were students ready with their phones to take pictures or videos of anything that happened.

JJ glared at him. "Do you have something to say?"

Derek snapped out of it. "...Excuse me?"

"Do you have something to say?" she repeated. When he stayed quiet, she kept going. "No? Then just _move_. You've been absolutely useless."

Derek blinked a few times, trying to say something, but instead of waiting, Emily and JJ shoved past him, taking Spencer with them.

He got into the backseat of JJ's car, buckling his seatbelt and attempting to curl his entire body up onto the seat. JJ looked back at him worriedly before eyeing Emily and sighing, starting the car and pulling out of her spot.

He looked out the window and watched as everything went by him. This was one of his worst days yet, and he wasn't looking forward to having more of them. Even worse was the fact that Derek Morgan was right in front of him and had the perfect opportunity to say something _again_, but he stayed quiet. Spencer now realized that he was exactly who he originally thought he was, and he should've just walked away at the Halloween party. None of this would've happened if he'd trusted his gut instinct and not _him_.

He didn't even notice when JJ pulled up in front of his house and got out, opening his door for him. He unbuckled himself and got out, picking up his backpack.

"Be careful, okay?" JJ said, taking the cap off and ruffling his hair. "If you need anything at all, I'm right next door."

He nodded slightly, adjusting the straps on his bag and looking down at the pavement.

She sighed, patting his arm. "Go, relax a little bit, shut down the genius brain. I'm sure Mom will send me over in no time with food for you."

He nodded again, taking his house key out of his pocket and trudging to his front door, unlocking it. He didn't even think to check on his mom before he locked the door and immediately went to his room, curling up in the fetal position on his bed and pulling a blanket over himself, blankly staring at his bedroom wall. He wasn't sure how many more days like this he could take without completely breaking. He'd gotten upset in German, cried during Physics, luckily in the bathroom, and again during lunch. He was only human and could only hope this would all end soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Spencer**

Spencer logged into his website to find that the amount of students had dwindled down to next to nothing - pretty much everyone had dropped his course as soon as they found out who he really was. There were a few names remaining, but he was willing to bet they just hadn't had the time to drop it yet. There were no e-mails with notifications saying that anyone needed homework help, and he guessed that none would show up either. He scrolled through the list and saw 'Blackhawk' was one of the first to go. Frustrated, he clicked out of it, running a hand through his hair and sighing. There went his best way to make money and help with the bills. At this point, he would have to rely on odd jobs to help out. When he wasn't doing those, his focus needed to be on his college applications, his homework, and taking care of his mother. He couldn't live in a fantasy world where one day, Derek Morgan would realize he was wrong and talk to him. He was ridiculous to ever believe he had a shot with someone like Derek Morgan. People like Derek? They got happy endings all the time. People like Spencer? They should just expect nothing in life, that way when they get nothing, they can't be disappointed. He sighed, rubbing his eyes before shutting down his computer, walking over to his bed and lying down, staring up at the ceiling blankly.

* * *

**Derek**

His mind was going a million miles a minute pretty much all of the time. One of the first things he had done was drop out of the tutoring website. The last thing Spencer would want to do at this point was help him with his math homework. If it came down to it, he would just have to figure everything out for himself. He tried opening e-mails to message Spencer and try to explain everything to him, but when he would open it up, his fingers would just hover over the keys, wondering how he could even begin to explain everything. He was an absolute ass, and he knew it, and he couldn't think of a way to make all of this better, so he tried avoidance. It wasn't the most mature option, but at this point, he couldn't think of anything else.

* * *

**Penelope**

She'd been giving Derek the cold shoulder for a few days now, mainly because she was furious that he didn't say anything, even though he knew exactly who was behind it. Yes, the hockey team would be down some of their best players, but they'd be getting what they deserved for hurting the poor kid. Not to mention since the season hadn't even started yet, there was plenty of time to get new players to replace them.

She wanted to know how Spencer was doing, but didn't want to bother him if he'd chosen to take everything internally. Instead, she decided to go to who she thought would be the best source for information. After the student council meeting let out, she stepped into the room, slipping into the desk beside JJ.

"Can we talk?"

JJ packed up her things. "Sure. What's up, PG?"

"Well, as much as I want to play catch up with you and figure out what's going on in the brains of my other favorite blonde, I was actually wondering how Spencer's doing? Everytime I see him in the halls, he looks like someone just kicked his puppy and I kind of just want to hug him and feed him candy."

JJ smiled slightly, picking up her backpack and putting it over her shoulder. "I wish I could sugarcoat it. I've never seen him this bad. He's been through a whole lot in his life and this is his rock bottom."

Penelope frowned. "Is there anything I could do?"

She shook her head. "There isn't even anything I can do. He's absolutely heartbroken and upset. The fact that people in the hallways only see Derek Morgan's side of things is pretty crappy of them, if you ask me." She paused, turning to Penelope. "No offense."

She put up her hands. "Absolutely none taken, believe me. Even I can't be on Derek's side for this one, after saving him from that panic attack."

JJ turned to her. "Thank you or that, by the way. It meant a lot that you looked out for him."

"I'm glad I could help. Does he at least have a distraction or something to keep him busy?"

JJ sighed, walking out of the classroom with her. "He still takes odd jobs to occupy his time, but none of them ever last too long. He had his tutoring, which he absolutely loved, but considering everything that happened? He shut down the site and gave up on it. Told me he can't see himself helping someone else when he can't even help himself." She ran a hand through his hair. "I never thought I'd miss my fact-spurting happy genius friend, but this emotionless shell of a person? I don't like him and I want the real Spencer back."

"Maybe someone else in the student body can do something and make themselves the laughing stock so all of the pressure is off of him?"

JJ held up crossed fingers.

"Wishful thinking, I guess," Penelope said, reaching out and rubbing her arm. "He has my phone number if he needs someone to talk to who's outside of his box. Remind him of that for me?"

She nodded slightly. "He barely talks to me, but I'll let him know." She dug her car keys out of her bag. "I'm going to attempt to talk to him now, so I'll try."

"Thank you."

She sighed, walking down the stairs to the parking lot.

Penelope followed. "...And JJ?"

JJ turned around to face her. "Yeah?"

"Once all of this is over, shopping trip? We're long overdue."

JJ grinned. "Definitely."

* * *

**Derek**

This week had been his most miserable in quite some time. He was still being treated the same, but his mind was always nagging him about Spencer. Anytime he saw him in the hallways, he was being ridiculed, and would probably be shoved around if he wasn't being walked to class by his friends. He couldn't help but think that was his fault. If he'd stopped them from leaking the information, Spencer could still be living his life how he wanted, and not protecting himself and shielding himself from everyone as much as he could. He'd gone on the tutoring website to see if he'd been keeping himself busy, but when he clicked on the link, it was an empty page. From his conversations, he knew that the website had been Spencer's escape from real life, so he knew how hard that must've been for him. Shaking his head, he clicked off of the page, running a hand over his face and sighing. Clearing the air with Spencer was the right thing to do, but that would involve outing himself, something he wasn't going to be ready for anytime soon. His mind definitely wasn't going to stop nagging him anytime soon, but he really needed to figure this out.

It had been another week of the same thing for Derek. He'd pass Spencer in the hallways, and his friends would just glare at him if he even thought of approaching him. He wanted to send him e-mails, but there weren't enough words in the English language that he could put together to say just how sorry he really was. He avoided the jocks at all costs, wanting to distance himself from them and their ridiculous antics. When at school, he stuck by Hotch and Haley, but unfortunately, any attempt to talk to Penelope was immediately met with the cold shoulder.

Because he didn't have tutoring anymore, he was doing horribly in math. He tried working with his teacher so he could get a better understanding, but the way they taught it was nothing compared to the way Spencer did it. With Spencer, he'd get individualized attention and all of the help he could possibly need. Unfortunately, it seemed like his teacher was just focused on helping him through the one problem, then heading out the door. He tried his absolute hardest on everything, but he just couldn't get a handle on it like he did with Spencer's help. As a result, his grades in math were on a downward slope with little hope of a turnaround.

One afternoon, he walked into his house and set his bag down before sitting on the couch, burying his head in his hands and sighing.

"Everything okay?"

He looked up and saw his mother coming in from the kitchen. "I thought you were working today?"

"I was… and then I got a call from your principal."

He winced, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Damn," he muttered under his breath, sighing.

She walked over, taking a seat next to him. "Told me that your math teacher was worried about you, because your grades have been slipping."

He swallowed. "I can take make-up tests. It'll be fine."

She rubbed his back. "I have faith in you, but I know my son better than to think that's all that's bugging you. Now come on, out with it."

"Where are Sarah and Desi?" he asked, not wanting them to hear this conversation. If there was anyone on this planet who could pull information out of him, it was his mother.

"Sarah's at a study group and Desiree is at volleyball practice," she assured him.

He took a deep breath. "How much time do you have?"

"For you? As much as you need."

He ran a hand over his face. "I don't even know where to start."

"I do," she said, straightening up. "Something is seriously bothering you and I haven't seen you shut down like this in a very long time. You give me short answers when I ask you questions, you're constantly upset, usually I can't put food in front of you fast enough but now you're barely poking at your plate at dinner, and now the phone call from the school? This is all adding up to something irritating you and I'm _guessing_ it involves Penelope, considering I haven't seen her around the house in a couple of weeks."

He swallowed, fidgeting with his fingers. "Mom, as a mother, you love your kids no matter what, right?"

She reached over, rubbing his back. "Of course. I could never stop loving you, and that's a promise. But I'll warn you, if you commit murder, I'm dragging you to the police station by the ear and throwing you in a jail cell myself."

He smiled slightly, nodding. "Believe me, I know."

She patted his back. "Take your time."

He cleared his throat, trying to get his thoughts straight. He needed to come clean and tell her everything, and he meant _everything_. He had always been horrible at keeping secrets from her, and knew that this would be no different. Exhaling, he cracked his knuckles.

"You know that I had that tutor from the ads at school, and you know that I was talking to him for a while because I was pretty much screwed when it came to math."

She nodded slightly, motioning for him to go on.

"He would help me with my homework and not let me give up on myself. You know that, because you started paying him for all of his hard work, calling him the one who 'brought out the real Derek'."

"He did," she said, "when you got help from him and finally understood it, you were happy."

He smiled to himself. "After he'd help me out, we'd get to talking, and I got to know him. We talked, and shared things with each other even our best friends don't know, because we were that comfortable with each other. Finally, it reached a point where I decided I needed to meet him, so we planned to meet up at the Halloween dance."

She frowned. "Was he there?"

He nodded. "He was there," he assured her. "We met up, we talked, we bonded, and we got to know each other even better, if that was even possible. Unfortunately, he had to leave early and I didn't even get his name."

She put a hand up to stop him before moving closer. "Derek, do you have feelings for this boy?"

He bit down on his cheek, nodding slightly. "I don't want to label myself, which people insist on, but I really liked him. More than Jordan, more than Tamara, and even more than Savannah. He just, he knew everything about me, and I knew everything about him. As soon as he walked away, I _missed_ him. I knew I could just send him a message or something, but I missed being around him."

She wrapped an arm around him, rubbing his arm. "What happened, does he not feel the same way?"

Sighing, he chewed on his cheek. "I tried to find out who he was. He dropped his phone so I figured Penelope could trace whose it was, but it didn't work. I sent him e-mails, but none of them were read. So I decided that I needed to find him anyway possible - I taped up posters around the school asking if anyone had information on who was 'Zorro' at the Halloween party."

"Did it work?"

He shook his head, sighing. "Not even a little bit. Lots of joke calls and texts, but nothing solid. Then nearly two weeks ago, when I thought about giving up, there was a note in my locker that he wanted to meet me face-to-face in the locker room to talk this through."

"...I take it he didn't show up?"

He swallowed. "He did, then the rest of the hockey team did. They set it all up. They hacked into my e-mail, got copies of our conversations, tortured him with them, then beat him up. I walked in after it all happened, and there was nothing I could do." He shook his head. "I saw him for this first time and I knew his eyes. He just looked at me and he was _broken_. I tried to talk to him, but no words would come out, and he bolted before I could say anything. I yelled at the guys on the hockey team that I wouldn't protect them, but the damage was done and they'd already set up the e-mails to go out to everyone in school with our conversations. I tried to find him but he was gone. It turned out that Penelope had found him and calmed him down from a pretty bad panic attack. He hadn't had one in years, but I indirectly caused one."

She sighed, rubbing his back. "It's not your fault, Derek. You didn't hurt him."

"But I couldn't exactly get there in time to stop it," he argued. "Since then, everything's gone to hell. The e-mails went out, the whole school knows."

"...So they're treating you differently?"

He shook his head again. "That's the thing. I'm still being treated like the same old Derek and the hockey team is their usual selves. It's Spencer who took the hit. He hides his face in crowds, he always has friends walking him to classes so he doesn't get harassed but it _still_ happens, he ducks out of his classes to cry in the bathroom. Even Penelope won't talk to me." He ran a hand over his scalp. "And I guess I just have no clue what I'm supposed to do."

The first thing his mother did was wrap her arms around him, pulling him into a hug and rubbing his back. He leaned his head against her shoulder, sighing. "This sucks."

"From the sound of it, yes it does."

He swallowed. "I don't know what to do and I could really do with some of your expert advice."

"You're not going to like it," she told him, looking down at him.

"I need to hear it."

She patted his back. "First thing's first? You need to get the hockey team disciplined for what they did. You can't let them think that they can hurt people and get away with it. If that means a few people are going to be mad at you? So be it."

He winced, but nodded. "I'll tell the principal as soon as I get to school tomorrow."

"That's my boy. And second?"

He sat up, looking at her. "Second?"

She reached over, putting a hand on his chest. "You need to listen to what you're feeling in here. It's not about your head. You care about this boy and your heart and your head aren't going to be in the same place."

He placed his hand on hers, nodding slightly. "Okay. Anything else?"

She patted his back. "Honestly, I want you to think about what your father would want to see you do. You always worry about making him proud, and I think this would be a great opportunity to show him that you can do the right thing."

He smiled slightly. "You don't think he'd be disappointed, do you?"

She shook her head. "Absolutely not. Your father loved you all very much, and I know if you use the mindset of what would make him happy, he'll be even more proud of you."

He rested his head on her shoulder, sighing. "When did life get so confusing?"

She kissed the top of his head, rubbing his back. "An answer I wish I had for you. But I believe that you can make this right if you set your heart on it."

He nodded, staring at the wall in front of him. Something about telling everything to her and letting her know everything that had been bothering him felt right, and she had always been his greatest therapist.

* * *

**Spencer**

Alone was how he preferred to spend his time now. JJ would drive him to school, and she and Emily felt obligated to protect him as much as they could during the day, but once he got home, he enjoyed alone time. When he had jobs to do outside of the house, he would get them done quickly and efficiently, then spend the rest of his afternoon in his room. He would leave to do things like make dinner or take a shower, but other than that, he liked to pretend the outside world didn't exist. Nobody could hurt him if he didn't let them in, like he had with Derek Morgan.

At school, things hadn't let up and nothing had taken the place of his 'stupidity' to the student body, so it was still fresh on their minds. When he saw members of the hockey team and how smug they were, he wanted more than anything to hit the smiles off of their faces. JJ and Emily eventually got to a point where they couldn't walk him to every single class, so they did the best they could. Unfortunately, people waited for them not to be around to throw insults at him, and he had to keep a straight face.

Some of the faculty had found out about everything that happened, and he'd been called into the principal's office to name his attackers. He told them the truth - he didn't know any names, and could likely identify them if he was shown them, but he highly doubted that they would have a police station line-up for him. If he remembered anything, they wanted him to report back to the office. He agreed, but knew he'd never come back. He'd just stick to his story that he didn't know them, which wasn't a direct lie.

He sat up on his bed, a pillow in his arms, chewing on his cheek and looking down at his bedspread, reaching down and picking off stray threads.

When there was a knock on the door, he raised an eyebrow, checking to see if JJ had texted him. Seeing he had no new messages, he turned toward the door. "Not in the mood, JJ."

The door opened and his mother stepped inside, a plate in her hands. "Then I guess it's a good thing I'm not JJ." She sat on the foot of the bed, holding out the plate to him. "Smooth peanut butter and grape jelly, no crusts. It was always your favorite after school snack."

He smiled, setting the pillow down and taking the plate from her. "And you even remembered the animal crackers."

"I've always said a mother knows." She reached out, pushing his hair back. "What's wrong?"

He picked off a piece of the sandwich with his fingers, looking up at her. "Are you having a good day today?"

"Moreso than usual. Doctor Norman seems to have finally found the right combination. I've been out of bed every day this week. If this keeps up, the university may possibly let me teach from home next semester."

He grinned. "I'm happy to hear that."

She played with his hair again. "We're not here to talk about me, so come on, tell me."

He swallowed the piece of his sandwich, grabbing his water bottle and taking a sip. "I did something that was extremely idiotic and uncharacteristic for myself."

She looked at him, curious. "And what was that?"

He cleared his throat. "I fell in love," he said softly, picking off another piece of his sandwich and sighing. "I met someone in my tutoring, we talked, I got to know him, I met him in person, I fell in love with him, we didn't even exchange names. I found a note in my locker telling me he wanted to meet me, I went, he wasn't there, the hockey team was." He bit down on his lip. "I'm sure you can figure the rest out."

"You didn't get hurt cleaning Mrs. Cabot's yard, did you?"

He shook his head slightly. "Just the story I told. I don't have any names for who hurt me, but I do know that _he_ showed up there and didn't say anything. I left, and by the time I got to school the next morning, everyone in the entire school had been sent copies of our conversations. His reputation stayed in tact, and I can barely survive a day without an anxiety attack." His voice cracked. "I'm sorry, Mom."

She sat beside him, rubbing his back. "You have nothing to apologize for, those boys do."

He sniffed, wiping at his eyes. "Dad did always say I'd be screwed up. At least I did somebody proud."

She grabbed his chin, turning it toward her. "Spencer Reid, your father was not right about you. You are an amazing, kind, gentle person and though things may not be how you planned them, you still keep going."

"I blame JJ," he muttered. "She's the one who forced me to go to school every day."

"Smart, I knew I liked that girl," she said, patting his back and smiling. "In the end, Spencer, all I want for you is to be happy. The past few years have been especially trying and I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for the two of us. You took any job you could get to be sure we could keep the house and still eat every day. You're extremely selfless, and you have more than earned the chance to be happy."

He eyed her. "So what do I do?"

"You shut down that big old brain of yours up there and listen to what you really want to do in here," she said, motioning toward his chest. "Nobody else deserves happiness more."

"Thanks, Mom."

She patted his back, getting up and pointing to the plate. "Think later. The first thing you need to do is eat. You're too skinny. Finish that and dinner will be ready in a couple of hours. And the Jareaus are out of town tonight, so JJ's coming over."

He smiled, nodding. "Yes, Mom."

After she walked out, he grinned to himself. Sure, his life wasn't going according to plan right now, but with his mother being better, he knew this was a step in the right direction.

When there was a knock on the door a couple of hours later, Spencer opened it to find JJ standing there.

She put up her hands. "I know, I know. You want your space and need your distance right now, and I respect that, but your Mom came over this morning and told my parents she wanted me to come over for dinner since they're going to be out of town and they made the plans without me knowing. If you want me to leave, I will."

He shook his head, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her. "Thank you for sticking by me."

She paused before smiling, hugging him back. "Of course, anything for you." She pulled back. "Are you doing okay?"

He thought it over before giving her an answer. "...Better."

"I'll take it." She stepped inside, closing the door. "What's for dinner, Mrs. Reid?"

"Spencer's favorite - lasagna. Old family recipe."

"Can't wait," JJ said, walking out to the kitchen.

Spencer sighed contentedly to himself, looking out to the kitchen and seeing his mother moving around and talking and _smiling_ again - he'd really missed her smile. At this point in time, maybe he didn't have all of the answers he needed, but tonight was definitely a step in the right direction to find out how to make himself happy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Derek**

He sat in a chair in the front office, his hands in his lap and his leg twitching. The first step to making everything better was going to be telling the principal exactly who was behind the attack on Spencer. He didn't care at this point if it didn't make a difference or if anything happened to them, but he needed the administration to know who was causing problems in the student body.

Penelope walked over to the secretary's desk, picking up her backpack and putting it over her shoulder. "Now, are you ladies _sure_ you don't need me to skip some classes and help out?"

One of them shook her head. "Miss Garcia, we'd rather you be in class. Though if we have another glitch in the system that the IT department can't solve, we'll be sure to pull you out of class. Thank you for coming in early."

"I'm glad I could be of service," she said, smiling at them and waving before turning around, seeing Derek. "...Why are you here?"

He pointed toward the principal's door. "I have an appointment."

She raised an eyebrow, eyeing the clock and taking the seat beside him. "...And why are you talking to the principal?"

He exhaled, lowering his voice. "I don't like this version of Derek Morgan, and I want to make myself better. I need to be happy again. Step one? Clearing my conscience, no matter what the consequences are going to be."

She reached over, and without saying another word, rubbed his back. "There's my Derek Morgan shining through."

He smiled slightly. "Have you um, talked to Spencer or any of his friends?"

She thought before nodding. "I talked to my friend JJ."

"And?"

She shrugged. "And I have no information to give. What you see is what's going on with him."

He took a deep breath, sighing. "You should get to class. I'll catch you up when I see you later."

She nodded, leaning over and kissing his cheek, wiping off the lipstick she left behind. "Good luck, I'm sure you'll do great."

"...Are we good again?" he asked as she got up.

She put a finger to her chin, thinking about it before winking at him. "We're good."

He gave her a small smile before she walked out, going down the hallway to her first class.

* * *

"Derek Morgan?"

He looked up and saw the door to the principal's office open. He sighed, getting up and walking in, taking the chair in front of the desk.

"I take it this has nothing to do with hockey season starting this week?"

He chewed on his cheek. "No? Well, not really. Not _directly_." He ran a hand over his face. "It's about the attack on Spencer Reid a couple weeks back."

She looked up at Derek, eyebrow raised. "Oh?"

He swallowed, clearing his throat. "My only condition is that my name stays out of this if anyone asks for your source. I need my safety."

She clicked her pen. "Of course."

"I walked in on the attack, and I saw who did it. I've realized that staying quiet was wrong, and I need to right that."

"Do you have their names?"

He nodded slightly, taking a deep breath. "It was five members of the hockey team. "Patrick Evans, Victor Wright, Anthony Price, Craig Allen, and Adam Cook." He looked up at her. "I walked into that locker room to find that kid bloodied up and hurting, and that has been haunting me ever since."

"Why now?" she asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"I know it's after the fact, but I needed to do this. I need my conscience clear. That kid is terrified to walk down these halls, and that's not fair to him."

"No it isn't," she said, clicking her pen again and setting it down. "Thank you, Derek." She handed him a hall pass. "This will be taken care of."

He nodded slightly, getting out of the seat and picking up his backpack, putting it over his shoulder and taking the hall pass, walking out. It wasn't much, but telling her what happened was the first step in the right direction.

* * *

**Spencer**

The last couple of weeks had been hell for him, but he was done feeling sorry and spending his time to himself. After his talk with his mother last night, he realized that as per usual, she was right and he deserved to be happy, however he may get it. JJ picked him up for school that morning and raised an eyebrow when he got into the car with a smile on his face.

"...What?" he asked.

"Who are you and where is Spencer Reid?"

He smiled slightly, setting his backpack on the floor in front of him and buckling his seatbelt. "It's me."

"And why are we so amazingly pleasant this morning?" she asked, starting the car.

He shrugged, watching out the window. "My mother had a really good day yesterday, the two of us got to talking, and she said she wants me to be happy because I've earned it. I realized that she's right and I need to push all of this aside to live my life how I want to, not letting other people get to me."

"Sounds like one smart mom to me."

He nodded. "Definitely the best out there. You and Emily don't need to walk me to classes, because I'm going to ignore anyone's comments and avoid confrontation as much as I can."

"There's my good old Spence," she said, reaching over and ruffling his hair.

He reached into his bag, taking out the baseball cap she had given him. "I won't need this anymore."

She picked it up, tossing it into the backseat. "Good, now I need to wash away the cooties."

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Put your hands on 10 and 2," he warned her, motioning toward the wheel.

She shook her head slightly. "Some things never change," she muttered under her breath before turning her attention back to the road.

* * *

When they arrived at school, Emily walked up to the car, holding Spencer's door open.

"How are we doing today?"

He shrugged, putting his backpack over his shoulder. "Turning over a new leaf, so good."

She looked at him, confused. "What sparked the change?"

"The fact that in no time at all, this school and the people in it aren't going to matter to me, and I need to stop worrying about what they're going to think of me, because to put it nicely, I really don't care."

She smiled, eyeing JJ. "I think I like this new Reid." She put an arm around his shoulder. "Come on, _you're_ walking _me_ to German this morning, stud."

He raised an eyebrow before shrugging again, walking toward the school with her.

Emily turned around to face JJ. _Still watching him_? she mouthed, and JJ gave her a thumbs up and a nod.

* * *

They were sitting in their seats in German class, enjoying some small talk when the loudspeaker chimed on.

"Will Spencer Reid please report to the principal's office? Spencer Reid to the principal's office. Thank you."

He paused in his seat, looking at Emily as everyone else turned to look at him. "...What did I do?" he whispered.

She shrugged. "Update me when you get back."

He nodded, holding up his hand and getting his teacher's attention. "Kann ich gehen?" (May I go?)

She held up the hall pass to him and he got out of his seat, walking up to her desk and ignoring all of the whispered comments, walking out of the classroom and toward the front office.

He walked into the office to find the principal waiting for him.

"Please, have a seat," she said, closing the door and sitting down in her chair.

Spencer chewed his cheek, sitting down and looking across the desk at her. "I don't want to seem rude or anything, but is there a specific reason I was called in during my German class?"

She nodded. "This won't take long. It pertains to you attack a couple of weeks ago."

He cleared his throat. "But I said I don't know any names."

"I understand that, but somebody did," she told him. "This morning, someone anonymously gave the names of the five hockey players responsible for hurting you, and I assure you they will be reprimanded for what they've done."

He paused, speechless. "Somebody knew who did it?"

"Yes, and they cleared their conscience this morning. I just wanted to give you the peace of mind of knowing that they aren't going unpunished."

He smiled slightly. "Thank you, ma'am. May I go back to class?"

She nodded, signing off on his hall pass. He got up, giving her a small smile before walking out and down the hallway.

Once he settled back into his seat in class, Emily nudged him. "Everything okay?"

"Mhm," he said, lowering his voice, "but I think it best we speak in German, because we all know our classmates can barely form a sentence saying their favorite color."

She smirked. "Meine Lieblingsfarbe ist lila." (My favorite color is purple)

"There we go." He sighed, making sure the class was distracted by the lesson. "Jemand rief meine Angreifer." (Somebody named my attackers)

She gasped. "Wer?" (Who?)

He shook his head slightly. "Ich weiß nicht. Anonym." (I don't know. Anonymous.)

"Haben Sie JJ denken?" (Do you think JJ?)

"Definitiv nicht." (Definitely not.)

The two of them spent the rest of the class period contemplating who would come to his rescue like that, but ultimately came up empty.

* * *

**Derek**

By lunch time, word had spread like wildfire that five members of the hockey teams were suspended from school that morning, and would be missing the first game on Saturday. This made Derek a bundle of nerves inside, because if it came back to him, the entire team would turn their backs on him. When he heard Spencer being called to the office early that morning, he figured it was letting him know that someone had confessed. He just hoped that all of this wasn't going to negatively affect him.

Penelope sat beside him at lunch, setting her bag down. "You know, I'm proud of you," she said, patting his back. "I know that took a lot for you, and I'm glad you did it."

He smiled slightly. "I talked to my mom yesterday. I told her everything."

"And by everything, you mean?" she inquired.

"Absolutely everything. The story, everything about him, how I'm feeling," he lowered his voice, "I even came out to her."

She squealed excitedly, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug. "I'm even more proud than I already was! Go you. How'd it go?"

"She loves me same as ever, and she just wants me to be happy. She also said to think what my dad would want to see, and above everything else, he'd want a son who would come clean and lay everything on the table."

"So you're going to do it?"

"I'm working my way up to it. Baby steps, but I'll make him proud."

She ran a hand over his head. "I'm sure you will."

Hotch took the seat on his other side. "So what's the team going to do?"

He exhaled. "Last minute tryouts today to have people for the game on Saturday. It should be interesting."

"I'll bet. You're telling me that _five_ guys cornered that kid in the locker room, like one wasn't going to be enough?"

He shrugged slightly. "That's what I've heard. Five of the biggest guys we had too."

"That's a definite low blow."

"Tell me about it," he said, picking up his burger and taking a bite. "At least I don't have to deal with them on the ice on Saturday. Unfortunately, that probably means we're going to lose."

Hotch shrugged. "Better to lose than have them on the ice."

Derek raised his eyebrows, nodding at him. "Definitely."

* * *

Derek was looking forward to telling his mother about the small improvements he had made to himself during the day so she could be proud of him once she got home. During his last class of the day, he planned to go to hockey tryouts to watch them, go home, get his homework done with the help of Google, then cook dinner to surprise his mother. Penelope had offered to drive him home after practice, since she was staying after school to make flyers for the big pep rally, but he'd driven himself in that day and told her he'd take a rain check. After the final bell, he walked toward the locker room to find some of the hockey players waiting for him.

He raised an eyebrow, walking up to them. "...Hey."

"Do you know that Reid kid ratted out the team?" one of them asked. "He was called to the office for it this morning."

He sighed, shaking his head. "No, it wasn't him. Penelope was in the office fixing something on the computers and he was only called in to be told someone had turned them in."

"So does she know who did it?"

He shook his head again. "She wasn't there when they confessed." He sighed, battling with himself if he should confess when he heard a voice behind him.

"...Derek." He turned around to find himself face-to-face with Spencer. "We need to talk."

* * *

**Spencer**

He'd had an internal debate all day, but he came to the conclusion that in order for himself to be truly happy, he needed to go to Derek and put everything out there. He knew Derek feared for his reputation, but that was no reason for him to supposedly be okay with everything that had happened over the past couple of weeks. It would be difficult, but he needed to approach Derek and tell him everything to his face. This wasn't something he could do via e-mail or text message.

JJ met him outside of his last class of the day.

"Hey, Spence, do you need a ride home?" she asked. "I have no student council meeting today and I know you have a job to do for Mrs. Thompson down the street. It'd be a hell of a lot easier if I drove you than if you took the bus."

He smiled appreciatively. "That sounds great, but I need to do something first."

She looked at him, confused. "Do you have a job here or something?"

He bit his lip, shaking his head. "I need to be happy, and to do that, I need to put everything negative in the past. Because of that? I'm going to go tell Derek he needs to figure out what he wants to do, because I'm not going to sit around and wait while he deals with whatever's going on his life."

She raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

He nodded, exhaling. "And if I make it through that without throwing up? I deserve an award."

"That you will." She patted his back. "I'll wait for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." She ruffled his hair, smiling. "You can do this, Spence."

He gave her a small smile, nodding. "Thank you."

She kissed his cheek and patted his back one last time before digging her keys out of her pocket.

* * *

He walked toward the locker room and saw Derek walking several steps ahead of him. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he was about to do. Rounding the corner, he saw him talking to some of the members of the hockey team. Thinking to himself, he contemplated turning back around and waiting for him to be alone. When they talked for a couple of minutes, he realized that it was a 'now or never' situation. He exhaled, stepping up behind Derek and playing with the strap of his bag.

"...Derek," he started nervously. Derek turned around to face him, looking at him, surprised. He cleared his throat, sighing. "We need to talk."

One of the jocks looked at Derek, nudging him with his elbow and smirking. "Lover's spat?"

Derek brushed it off, looking at Spencer. "Do you want to go somewhere?"

"So you two can be alone?" another teased.

Spencer shook his head, taking a deep breath and looking him in the eye. "I was never anything but honest with you. I was scared, but I opened up to you, and you knew more about me than some of my friends. I'm sure you know my friends, the only ones who have been decent enough to communicate with me while the school keeps worshipping the ground you walk on?" He sighed, shaking his head again. "That's not what's important. The fact of the matter is, yes, I put myself out there, but nothing I said wasn't true. Everything I said, I meant, and the entire school may have been able to read me a book, but I can still walk around with my head held high." He shrugged slightly. "So I'm gay. So I'm smart. So I skipped a grade. So I have a mother who isn't in perfect health. I don't care. I don't need the school to like me or to hide who I am anymore. There's nothing for me to be afraid of. I've been beaten up, I've been ridiculed, and I've had two of the worst weeks of my life, but I've survived. I made it through because I'm a strong person who believes in myself and my self worth." Swallowing, he urged himself to continue. "You tried to find me, but I didn't want to be found, because yes, I was afraid. But I'm not afraid anymore. I've shown my true colors, and I know that deep down inside, yours are showing too. I've seen the looks you've given me these last couple of weeks and I know that somewhere inside is the Derek Morgan I got to know. I'm sure you're familiar with him. He's a kind, gentle person, and he may not be the greatest person at math, but he's good-hearted and he knows what he wants out of life."

"It definitely isn't you," one of the jocks muttered.

He eyed Derek again. "Like I said, I know that Derek is in there, but I'm not going to wait forever for him to show up. You prefer that Derek, I know you do. But this Derek here? He's a coward, and I know you can't be proud of yourself until you're the person you really want to be. I hope that someday, you let that real Derek out, because that's the Derek the world deserves to see. It's okay to admit who you really are, and I can tell you from experience that denying it doesn't make it any easier." He adjusted his backpack again, sighing. "People can insult me all they want. I'm done caring. And if someone like me who constantly faces ridiculous can stop caring, surely someone of your social standing can. If you want to talk, you know where to find me, but I don't want to talk to _this_ Derek. I don't want the coward. I want the hero."

Derek just stood there, looking at him, completely speechless.

Spencer nodded at him. "Good afternoon, Derek Morgan, and good luck with your game on Saturday." He turned around, walking away from the locker room and feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

JJ peeked around a corner, smiling at him and holding out her arms, pulling him into a hug.

"You heard everything?" he asked.

She nodded slightly, rubbing his back. "And I am so insanely proud of you. Your 'dad' is an absolute fool for giving up on you as a son, because that was amazing."

He grinned. "Thank you."

She patted his back before pulling back. "Come on. A speech like that earns someone an ice cream cone."

"Does that include sprinkles?"

"As a matter of fact, it does." She grinned, taking out her car keys, twirling them around her finger and walking to the parking lot with him.

* * *

**Derek**

Derek brushed off what Spencer said in front of his teammates, but in reality, it was eating him up inside. While he was watching the last minute tryouts before the game on Saturday, his attention wasn't on the ice, trying to figure out who would be best for his team. Instead, his mind was going over everything Spencer had told him. He was 100% right with everything he said to him. Derek was a coward and he was scared of embracing who he really was because he cared too much about what everyone else might think of him. He shouldn't care, because soon enough these people aren't going to matter, but there's that one part of him that cared, and it sucked that he couldn't shut that part of him off. He could come out and just accept himself, or he could keep it hidden for his safety. It was definitely a huge struggle for him.

He reached into his pocket, taking out his phone and texting Penelope.

_Are you around after dinner tonight? I really need your help._

She texted him back a couple of minutes later.

_Of course. Give me a time and place and I'll be there, Adonis._

He smiled to himself.

_7:00, my bedroom._

_Most girls in our school would die to get this sort of text from you. SIGH. If only they knew how heartbreaking it truly is!_

He laughed, smirking.

_But you'll always be my #1 Baby Girl_ _;)_

He tucked his phone into his pocket, tuning in to the tryouts in front of him and trying to find people who totally wouldn't screw them over come Saturday.

* * *

After going home, he made dinner for his family, and he told his mom he had news for her, but he wouldn't have all of it until Saturday after the game. His sisters looked at him, clueless, but she smiled, nodding at him in understanding.

When there was a knock on the door, Derek got up from their couch in the living room. "That'll be Penelope, I've got it."

"Ooh, _Penelope_," Desiree teased, "are you going up to your room again for '_studying_'?"

"Yeah, Mom, why does he get to '_study_' in his room with Penelope, but I go to my room to show Julian Walker my softball trophy and I get yelled at?"

"That's because me studying with Penelope doesn't result in one of us in only our bra and shorts," he teased.

"Mom!" she yelled.

"I am definitely glad I stopped at three," she said, shaking her head.

"I don't know," Derek started. "I think I would've liked being an only child. You _did_ hit perfection with number two, you could've just 'lost' the others." He dodged the pillow Desiree threw at him and went to the front door, opening it. "Thanks for coming."

She patted his cheek. "Anything for you, my sweets." She walked inside, waving to his sisters, then his mother. "Hi, Fran. Is it okay if Derek and I go up to his room if I promise no hanky-panky or funny business?"

She laughed, nodding. "Go right ahead."

* * *

Penelope grabbed Derek's hand, running for the stairs and up to his room, closing the door behind them.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. "It's got to be something if you weren't focused on hockey. Usually a bomb could go off ten feet away from you during a practice and you wouldn't even flinch."

He smiled slightly. "Spencer came up to me today. Before the tryouts."

She raised her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, what?"

He nodded. "Spencer. As in Spencer Reid, mystery man Zorro, Geniusof187. He came up to me by the locker rooms and told me off. Basically told me I need to stop hiding and embrace who I really am, because that Derek is a much better person."

She blinked. "...What did you say?"

"What _could_ I say? Some of the guys were right behind me and he sort of just caught me by surprise."

She clicked her tongue. "So you didn't say anything because you were worried about what your teammates would think?"

He plopped onto his bed, grabbing his football from the floor and tossing it into the air. "I don't know. Maybe."

"I thought it might come to this," she muttered, digging through her purse.

"What are you doing?"

She took out a notebook, sitting beside him, then took out her purple pen. "We're going to get your answer, once and for all." She put a pillow behind her back, leaning against the wall next to his bed. "Pros and cons, let's do this."

"...You're putting my fate at school over the next six months in the hands of a pros and cons list?"

She nodded. "You bet I am. You've seriously been wrestling with this decision too long and I don't know about you, but I'm ready to find out who this 'real Derek Morgan' is the kid was talking about."

"But Penelope-"

She put up her hand. "No cuts, no buts, no coconuts."

"...That doesn't apply here."

"It means 'don't interrupt me, shut up, and cooperate' in Penelope Garcia. Now come on." She reached over, patting his knee. "Let's go."

He laid back on his bed, running a hand over his face and sighing. "Do you want the pros or the cons?"

"Let's get the bad boys out of the way first, then we'll go to the professionals." When he gave her a look, she groaned. "Get it? **Con**victs and **Pro**fessional-" she waved her hand in the air. "Forget it. Over your head."

He chewed on his cheek. "Well, colleges aren't exactly looking for athletes who aren't of the straight variety. I get it's the 21st century and all, but nobody wants to play on a team with the gay guy."

She clicked her pen. "College athletes are a bunch of douches," she said as she wrote. "Next?"

He smiled slightly. "The student body knowing my deepest, darkest secret. I've seen how they treat people and I'm not ready for that for myself."

"The student body is composed of asshats, okay… what else?"

He tapped his fingers against the football, tossing it into the air and catching it. "I guess the fact that I can't pretend I'm dating you anymore is a huge con."

She smirked. "Flattery will get you nowhere here, but thank you. Now come on, more cons?"

He thought to himself before shaking his head. "I… don't think I have any. I mean, the student body being immature and not getting into college are the two big things."

She moved closer to him, patting his knee. "Well, I can promise you that when it comes to college, I will do everything in my power to help you with your applications and anything else you need. A school will be absolutely ridiculous if they don't scoop you up just because your pants get a little tight for guys."

He grinned at her. "Thank you, sweetness."

"Of course." She clicked her pen a few more times. "Pros, let's go!"

He held up his fingers, counting off the pros as he went along. "Being the person I've always wanted to be but couldn't because I was worried about my image. No longer needing to live a lie and finally being able to be my real self. Showing the rest of the student body that you shouldn't be ashamed by who you really are. Maybe being an example to kids who are scared to come out to show them that they can do it too."

She wrote them down. "Fantastic, all great reasons. Anything else?"

He sighed, tossing the ball and catching it a few more times before clearing his throat. "Maybe the fact that I can talk to Spencer Reid again. I can maybe get him to see my side of the story and hopefully he won't call me a dick."

She patted his knee again. "You still like him, don't you?"

He nodded and she wrote 'Spencer Reid' in big, block letters at the bottom of the list.

She turned the notebook around and showed him that even though the cons were scary, the pros were so much better. "Well, it looks like we have a winner."

He took the notebook from her, reading the list and sighing. "Well, I'll be damned."

"But the question is, what matters more, being a good person, or caring what everyone else is going to think about you?"

Without any hesitation, his answer came out. "Being a good person. My dad deserves to see that, and I'm going to make him proud."

She smiled, nodding. "I think I'm going to like this real Derek Morgan."

"You definitely will." He sat up. "The question is, how?"

"How what?"

"Obviously revealing who I really am, or 'coming out' as it's often called, is what I need to do, but I need to do it in a way that Spencer can see so he knows the real me is in here, and he wants out."

She hummed to herself, clicking her tongue. "You need it to be public. It needs to in some way involve the student body. The digital route won't help here, you need to do this, face-to-faces." She furrowed her brow before gasping, hitting his leg. "The pep rally before the game! As captain of the hockey team, you're required to give a big speech about school spirit and unity and go team go. It's the perfect way. AND Spencer Reid is guaranteed to be there because it's a required event by the school because we all know they put athletics before academics."

He smiled to himself, nodding. "Okay."

She reached over, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek. "You ready to do this?"

He shook his head slightly. "No, but I will be."

She pulled back, wiping the lipstick off of his cheek and smiling. "I'm proud of you, and I'm going to leave you to your speech writing." She got up, ripping out the pros and cons list, handing it to him, before stuffing the notebook back into her bag. "Good luck."

* * *

After she left his room, she went downstairs to find Derek's mother waiting for her.

"How is he?" she asked, motioning toward his bedroom. "He told me what's going on, but something happened."

"He's fine," she assured him. "In fact… are you working Friday afternoon?"

She shook her head. "The office is closing at 1:00, why?"

Penelope reached into her bag, taking out one of the flyers she'd designed for the pep rally and holding it out to her. "I'd like to extend an invitation for you to meet the real Derek Morgan. I hear he's a pretty amazing person and can't wait to see him."

She took the flyer from Penelope, reading it and nodding. "Thank you."

"Anytime." She winked at her, smiling, before walking outside and closing the door behind her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Spencer**

Spencer sighed, sitting down between Emily and JJ at lunch.

"What's wrong with the boy genius?" Emily asked, looking up from her tray.

"Why does a pep rally need to be a mandatory event for the student body?" he asked, holding up the flyer. "I can think of a million things I would rather do than sit in a gym, surrounded by my fellow students, cheering on the hockey team, and listening to Derek Morgan go on about school unity and team spirit and 'Go, Eagles, Go'."

JJ raised an eyebrow. "Go on, tell us how you really feel."

"I think I just did." He opened up his juice, taking a sip. "But I really do fail to see a legitimate reason as to why we _need_ to go."

"Because the athletic director has the principal around his finger and wants her to emphasize athletics," Emily explained, setting her fork down. "Most athletes have nothing in their heads so they need to feel like they're doing something - Ow!" She picked up a grape off of the table, throwing it back at her. "Seriously, I said _most_ athletes, JJ. It was implied that it didn't include you."

JJ rolled her eyes, looking at Spencer. "So, what, you're going to skip your first thing involving school _ever_?" she asked.

He took a deep breath, sighing. "I don't know."

Emily nudged him with her elbow. "What do you say, tough guy? The two of us can be rebels together. We'll skip it if you can't handle it, spend the time in the parking lot listening to the radio instead of a trained puppet who's going to give the same stupid speech he gives every season."

He chewed on his cheek and thought it over for a few minutes before shaking his head. "I'll go."

JJ turned to look at him. "...Are you sure?"

He nodded slightly. "I'm not going to let other people and what may happen dictate my life for me. Derek Morgan may be there, but I'm done being worried about what people are going to say or think or do. If I don't show up, it's not doing me any good."

"Tell you what," Emily started, digging her spoon into her pudding and swirling it around, "if you reach a point where you can't handle it? No words, just pull on my sleeve and we're out of there. Deal? I don't mind being the one to skip out on a pep rally, _believe_ me."

He smiled, nodding. "Deal."

* * *

**Derek**

All week, he worked on having a good speech for the pep rally, but still had no clue how he was going to go about giving it in front of the entire student body, as well as most of the faculty, considering it wasn't exactly on topic. He'd written it out and put it on note cards, and even ran it by Penelope to be sure that it made sense and could be understood. Though she told him he had nothing to worry about, his stomach was in knots that weren't going away until it was all over.

At lunch on Friday, Penelope sat beside him. "Are you ready for this afternoon?"

"Not even a little bit," he said, pushing his food around on his lunch tray with his fork and sighing.

"You'll do fine," she assured him, patting his back. "It's scary, but I promise, you'll be fine."

He gave her a small smile before taking a bite of his food.

One of the hockey players sat beside Derek, setting his tray down.

Derek looked at him, eyebrow raised. "...What are you doing here?"

"After everything that happened with that Reid kid, we all talked, and we're not sure you have our backs."

Derek swallowed the food in his mouth, taking a sip of his juice. "Yours, yes. The five idiots? Probably not."

"See, some of us think it, but we don't _believe_ it."

Penelope laughed to herself. "Sounds very fortune cookie if you ask me," she mumbled.

Derek smirked, eyeing her, before turning back to him. "Your point being?"

"In your speech at the pep rally? We want to hear you prove it. We want you to prove you care about the team and have our backs, and you're not going to hold what those guys did against the rest of us."

He looked up at him. "I'll think about it. Speech is already written, but I'll see if I can throw it in there."

"All we ask, man." He patted Derek's back before getting up, walking over to his usual table.

"They send _him_ to threaten me? Seriously?" he turned to Penelope. "Tell me I could take him."

"I don't do violence," she said, putting up her hands.

"You could take him, Hotch stated, sitting next to him, "easily." He looked at him. "Ready for your speech?"

"Kind of have no choice, I need to give it in a couple of hours."

"Need me to look over it?"

He shook his head, motioning toward Penelope. "She already did, but thanks."

"Good luck."

He exhaled, nodding his appreciation. "I need it."

* * *

He pulled on his letterman jacket shortly before the pep rally, sitting in one of the seats set up for the hockey players. Running his hand over his face, he tried to recite his speech verbatim in his head to keep himself distracted as the students made their way into the gym. He didn't want to take out his note cards, for fear of one of his teammates leaning over and glancing at it.

As the pep rally started, he looked up and saw that the bleachers were full of people who were waiting for him to talk. Maybe this _wasn't_ a good idea. This was a huge audience and he had a lot of personal things to say to Spencer. He suddenly had a feeling in his gut that he shouldn't do it. However, he looked over at the door and saw his mother walking in, taking the seat beside Penelope. He saw the two of them and noticed Penelope blowing him a kiss and giving him a thumbs up. He smiled, giving one right back. She encouraged him to do this. She would only do that because it'd be a good idea to get it done. Coming to that conclusion, he decided that he needed to block everything out: he couldn't listen to the coaches, the jocks, or the students. Instead, he needed to put all of his attention into his speech and rehearse what he was going to say.

* * *

**Spencer**

He wedged himself between JJ and Emily, taking a deep breath and looking down at his hands.

JJ wrapped a hand around his back, rubbing it. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

He shook his head, exhaling. "I'm not sure I can handle being in this setting right now. I just… I can feel people staring at me and while he's going to talk, I know they're going to have comments to make and I don't know if I can do that. I've made a lot of progress this week but I don't want it all to be erased."

JJ reached into her bag, taking out an unopened water bottle and handing it to him. "Drink some water, relax, deep breaths, everything's going to be fine," she assured him, patting his back.

He opened the bottle, sighing, taking a sip and closing it back up.

"Besides," Emily started, pulling her sweatshirt sleeve. "My offer still stands."

He smiled appreciatively, nodding and resting his hands in his lap.

He did well when the principal was talking, and barely even tuned in to the coach giving his usual spiel about victories and winning and teamwork. He was pretty sure that after years of hearing it, he could recite it along with him. Every few minutes, JJ would lean over, patting his knee to assure him that he was fine, and Emily would pull her arm into her sweatshirt, motioning toward the empty sleeve. He smiled to himself, nodding slightly and taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

When it was time for Derek to get up and give his speech, he froze, panicking.

JJ looked at him. "You okay?" she whispered.

He shook his head. "I may have stood up to him, but I can't do this. I can't handle this environment and being in front of him and pretending everything is okay." He looked at her with genuine fear in his eyes. "I need to go."

She nodded, patting his back. "Meet me at my car after the pep rally," she said, digging through her purse and taking out her keys, eyeing Emily. "You've got this?"

"Absolutely." She took the keys from her, pulling Spencer up by the arm and heading to the exit.

* * *

**Derek**

After his introduction, Derek stepped up to the podium, clearing his throat and setting out his note cards. He eyed them, mumbling the speech to himself quickly, before looking up at the students. He adjusted his letterman jacket and tried to work out the crick in his neck. Never before had he been so nervous. He tried to think of how to calm himself down, but ultimately, he eyed his mother and Penelope in the crowd and smiled to himself, eyeing his note cards before speaking.

"Saturday is our first game, and we're up against the Bulldogs. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm thinking we have this one in the bag," he started, which was met with a lot of cheering. He put up his hand, nodding. "Undefeated against a team is always a good thing. I'm ready to fight them, give it everything I've got with the rest of these guys, and show you guys a good start to the season."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone getting up, and looking over, he realized it was Spencer, trying to leave. Inside, he panicked. Spencer _had_ to be here for this speech and everything he was going to say. He'd planned it out for him to hear. Not knowing what else to do, he said his name.

"Spencer Reid, you need to stay in this gym," he said, looking right at him, "because I have a few things to say to you, and please, just hear me out."

Spencer froze in his tracks, eyeing his friend, before sighing, looking at Derek, chewing on his lip and pulling at his sleeves nervously.

He flipped through his notecards, past everything about teamwork and school unity, to find his apology. "Some of you may know Spencer Reid, but not for right reasons. You go off of what you think you know about a person, and not what you really should know about them. There have been rumors and speculations, and even facts spread about him over the last few weeks, but for all of the wrong reasons." He took a deep breath. "Conversations have two sides, and unfortunately, everyone only looked at one: his. He wasn't talking to himself, he wasn't alone, but because I have status here at school, it was just brushed off. It shouldn't have been. Most of you know me as Derek Morgan: the athlete, the popular guy, the 'ladies man', the good guy. But there's so much more to a person than what you know based on observation. I'm Derek Morgan. I'm not the best student but I'm great at sports, I'm popular because of it, and I try to be a good person, but I don't know how good I can be until I'm completely honest with myself." Clearing his throat, he turned to look at the rest of the students. "I'm Derek Morgan, I'm a Gemini, I'm an athlete… and I'm gay." He never heard the gym so silent and willed himself to continue. "Those conversations weren't altered, and nothing was said that I didn't mean." He motioned toward Spencer. "This is Spencer Reid, and through whatever powers that may be, he fell for me… and in turn, I fell for him. In life, there's a lot of things to worry about, and hiding from who you truly are shouldn't be one of them. There's a lot to worry about with coming out. 'What if colleges don't want me? What about my athletic career? What are people going to think?' Honestly, I've thought about it, and I don't care anymore." He shrugged. "I like guys, I like girls. That doesn't change who a person truly is. If you want to judge me for it, go ahead. You shouldn't let other people dictate your life and your choices."

Sighing, he stepped back, thinking to himself, before making the decision to walk right up to Spencer.

"...What are you doing?" Spencer asked, staring at him.

"Something I should've been doing from the start." He swallowed, looking him in the eye. "I have been the worst person I could be, and I'm very ashamed of myself for that. I should've been honest from the beginning, I shouldn't have let everything happen that did, and I should've stepped up. I didn't, and that was wrong of me." He sighed. "_Please_ forgive me."

* * *

**Spencer**

He heard Derek say his name and froze in his tracks. He could feel everyone looking at him at this point, so he held on to Emily's sleeve for dear life. Every few minutes, she would reach over, patting his back and trying to calm him down. Once he heard Derek admit who he really was, part of him was proud of him for finally doing it, but the other couldn't understand why _now_ needed to be the time to do this. He then realized that this was probably the only way he could guarantee that Spencer would get his message and sighed, waiting for it to be over.

Derek walked over, standing right in front of him.

"...What are you doing?" Spencer asked, staring at him. He was definitely in a panic about what was going to happen.

"Something I should've been doing from the start." Derek looked him right in the eye, as he had on Halloween night, and he knew he was being genuine with whatever he was going to say. "I have been the worst person I could be, and I'm very ashamed of myself for that. I should've been honest from the beginning, I shouldn't have let everything happen that did, and I should've stepped up. I didn't, and that was wrong of me." He sighed. "_Please_ forgive me."

Spencer turned to Emily who whispered in his ear. "It's your call."

He ran a hand over his face, wondering just what he was supposed to do. Derek was definitely being genuine with him right now, and that speech definitely showed remorse for everything that had happened to him over the last couple of weeks. The fact that he just came out to the entire student body and not just him showed him that he was done hiding and needed to be himself to be happy. Then he thought about his personal happiness. The last few weeks had been trying and really tested him, and he tried to remember a time when he was truly happy. Then it dawned on him: the last time he could remember being _truly_ happy was on Halloween, when he'd talked to Derek and gotten to know him. Despite everything that happened, Derek Morgan _had_ made him happy, and for the first time in a long time, he needed to follow his heart instead of his head.

He nodded slightly, giving Derek a small smile.

Derek exhaled, relieved. "I've been waiting a long time for this," he started.

Spencer raised an eyebrow, looking at him, confused. "A long time for what?"

Derek leaned in, lifting Spencer's chin with one hand and putting the other around his waist, kissing him softly. Spencer blushed and smiled, wrapping his arms around Derek's neck. He didn't care what the rest of the student body thought. He couldn't care _less_ about what they had to say right now. For once in his life, after everything he'd gone through, Spencer Reid _finally_ had a happy ending.

He pulled back, resting his forehead against Derek's and laughing nervously. "No games?"

Derek shook his head. "No games. This is real."

Spencer bit his lip, grinning. "I think I like this reality."

Derek turned around to the stunned student body and cleared his throat. "Go Eagles."

To Spencer's surprise, he could hear _cheering_, and Derek looked equally stunned by the circumstances. It seemed like Derek had nothing to worry about, and so long as he stayed himself, they didn't care what he did.

Emily smirked. "You gotta love high school."

Spencer felt a tugging on his arm after the pep rally had let out and turned around to find himself face-to-face with Penelope. Before he could say anything, she pulled him into a hug, squeezing.

"Thank you," Spencer told her. "For everything. I'm sure you had something to do with that."

She pulled back, patting his cheek. "No problem. I'm glad everything worked out for you in the end, you deserve it."

He smiled, nodding, before JJ walked over and pulled him into a hug of her own.

* * *

**Derek**

That was easily the most nerve wracking thing he had ever done in his life. He expected hate. He expected backlash. He expected the school to be against him. He hadn't expected to be applauded and accepted to quickly, and it felt _amazing_. Not only that, but Spencer forgave him, and the two of them could start over, which was what they both desperately needed.

Penelope took his mother's hand, walking over and stopping in front of him. "I said I'd introduce you. Fran, this is the real Derek Morgan."

She smiled, kissing Derek's cheek before hugging him, rubbing his back. "I'm so proud of you, and I know your father would be too."

He grinned. "Thanks, Mom." He pulled back, taking her hand and walking over to Spencer. "Mom, meet the guy who let out the real Derek Morgan."

Spencer waved at her nervously, giving her a small smile and nodding.

She smiled widely at him. "It's very nice to meet you, and thank you for showing Derek who he really is."

He cleared his throat. "I didn't - that was mostly him. He just did that on his own, but I suppose I may have influenced it a bit so I guess… you're welcome?"

Derek laughed to himself, turning to Spencer. "Are you busy tonight? I could use a little help with my math homework, and I hear you're _excellent_ at that."

Spencer bit his lip, smiling. "I'm _okay_, but I guess I could take a look."


	10. Chapter 10

**Spencer**

The two of them sat in the kitchen at Derek's house, Derek's math textbook in front of them.

Spencer tapped his pencil against the book, looking up at Derek. "Okay, so your homework is numbers 1 through 20. We've gone over the formulas for the last half hour. Do you think you could manage getting the problems done without help?"

Derek shrugged, eyeing the problems. "Possibly, or…"

"Or what?" Spencer asked, eyebrow raised.

"We could set up a system," Derek suggested. "For every right answer I get, I earn a kiss."

Spencer rolled his eyes, shoving his notebook at him. "That's not happening. I don't do bribery."

"Why not?"

"I don't believe it's a valid way to get someone to do something, because then, they're only doing it for the incentive, and not because they should."

"Uh huh, have you ever used bribery?"

"No?"

"Then how do you know it's not valid if you haven't tried it yourself?"

Spencer smiled, blushing. "Fine, for every _five_ problems done correctly, you get _one_ kiss. Does that seem fair?"

Derek nodded, clicking his mechanical pencil and turning to a new page in his notebook. "It sounds more than fair."

Spencer leaned back in his seat, watching as Derek worked on his math homework. The last few months had been, for lack of a better word, _perfect_. The bullying at school had stopped completely ever since Derek's declaration at the pep rally. He was no longer the laughing stock of the school and, instead, people _wanted_ to be around him. He knew popularity was a ridiculous concept that only made others feel excluded, but something about being the boyfriend of the best athlete in school felt good. As a result, Derek talked him into going to several of his hockey games. JJ had joined him for a few, teaching him about the details of hockey and letting him know the appropriate times to cheer. He'd still had lunch with Emily, JJ, and Will everyday, and over time, Derek, Penelope, and two of Derek's friends had joined them. He'd never really been part of a big group of friends, but now that he was, it felt right.

Derek looked up from his notebook, handing it to Spencer. "Problems 1-5, done. Pucker up."

Spencer shook his head. "Not so fast." He picked up a pencil, sharpening it, before looking at Derek's answers. He hummed to himself, going over every last detail painstakingly slow.

When he finally set the notebook down, Derek looked up at him. "_Well_?"

Spencer leaned in, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Fifteen more to go."

Derek gasped. "All of that work for a cheek? _Come on_."

Spencer shrugged. "You didn't make any conditions, that's your fault, not mine."

Derek clicked his tongue before looking up at him. "Fine, all 20 gets me a _real_ kiss. Fair?"

Spencer thought it over before nodding. "Fair." He handed the notebook back to him. "I'll be waiting."

* * *

While he was working, Derek glanced up at Spencer. "You gotten any college letters yet?"

Spencer nodded slightly. "A few. I'm staying local for a few years, just to be sure Mom's doing well, before I take the offers from MIT or Caltech or anywhere else. Her doctors told me she's doing fine, but I just want to know for sure before I leave, you know?"

"Mhm. Besides, that means you're mine for at least a few more years… if colleges ever decide to get back to me."

"I'm sure they will," Spencer assured him. "I mean, you're a star hockey player. Who's not going to want to scoop that up?"

"Homophobes," Derek put plainly, finishing his problem and starting the next one.

"Their loss," Spencer told him, tapping his notebook with his finger. "Now come on, you're ten away from a kiss."

"You know, most guys don't have to _work_ for a kiss from their boyfriends."

Spencer put up his hands. "You made the conditions, not me."

* * *

**Derek**

Luckily, after the pep rally, he was still treated like the same old Derek. The fact that the student body openly accepted something that he felt a need to hide for years was a huge relief. He enjoyed being able to spend time with Spencer and get to know him better than he already had. They'd talked nearly every day, and if Derek didn't have practice or a game, they'd do something together, whether it was Spencer helping him with his homework or Derek taking him out to dinner. At first, Derek could tell all of the attention made Spencer nervous, but after talking to him, he assured him that it was a good thing.

When the athletes who had hurt Spencer came back to the team, Derek had them apologize to him personally, and told them if they had any issues, they could go through Derek. Unsurprisingly, there were no problems on their part. They'd eaten lunch separately for several weeks, until one day, Derek moved everyone his table to the other side of Spencer's, introducing everyone. Derek was definitely a fan of PDA at school, while Spencer was extremely shy about it, so whenever Derek would steal a kiss, Spencer would blush and swat a hand at him with a smile on his face.

Applying to colleges hadn't been easy for him, considering he wasn't the best student. Luckily, Penelope had kept her promise, and Spencer joined in on it, helping him with his essays. Penelope had been in charge of sending out the applications for him, so it was just a waiting game for the first acceptance or rejection letter to come in.

He finished his homework problems, handing Spencer his notebook and sighing. "How'd I do?"

Spencer put up a finger, looking through the problems and clicking his tongue, his pencil hovering over the page.

"You're the devil," Derek muttered.

Spencer laughed softly. "Not quite." He scanned the rest of his problems and raised his eyebrows, setting down the notebook and taking off his glasses, rubbing his eyes.

"That bad, huh?"

He shook his head. "No, just thinking about the fact that I _actually_ bribed you to get this done and it's done correctly."

"So how do you feel about bribery now?"

"I still abhor it," Spencer said, putting his glasses back on.

Derek smirked. "No, you don't."

Spencer leaned in, resting a hand on Derek's cheek and kissing his lips. Derek smiled to himself, pulling Spencer's chair closer to his and laughing softly when Spencer yelped.

His younger sister walked in, hitting the stack of mail against the table. "Good afternoon, big brother."

He pulled back and watched as Spencer blushed, clearing his throat and looking at the textbook.

"To what do I owe the displeasure?" he asked, eyeing her.

She held up the mail. "A few things for you from some colleges. Why they'd want you is beyond me."

He reached out, taking it. "You can go now."

"I don't know, I think you two should have supervision."

"Don't make me get mom in here."

She put her hands up. "Spencer, I wish Mom could adopt you and give him up. At least the manners your mother taught you stuck."

Derek shooed her away and waited until she left the room before eyeing the envelopes in front of him.

"Do you want me to go?" Spencer asked, motioning toward them.

He shook his head, picking up the first and sighing, tearing it open and holding it out to Spencer. "Rejection will hurt less coming from you."

Spencer took it. "And what makes you think it's a rejection?"

"What school is going to want to be the progressive one and have a gay star athlete?"

"Opening someone else's mail isn't exactly right, even if I have permission-"

"Please, Spencer?"

Spencer sighed, reading it, before tearing open the other envelopes, reading those as well.

"Let me guess. 'Dear Derek Morgan - nice try, but no way you'll get in here'."

Spencer smiled, shaking his head. "Three acceptance letters with scholarship offers, actually."

Derek glanced up at him. "You're serious?"

He handed the letters to Derek. "See for yourself."

Derek took them, reading through them and raising his eyebrows, smiling. "I'm going to college."

"On someone else's dime," Spencer added.

He took the phone out of his pocket, calling Penelope. While it was ringing, he put his hand over it. "MOM, get in here!"

She walked in. "Derek, what are you yelling about?"

He held up the letters to her, putting the phone on speaker.

"Hey, Chocolate Thunder. I thought you had a study date today."

"I do, just wait one second."

"What am I waiting for?"

His mother gasped, squealing and running over, hugging him. "You did it, I knew you could!"

"What's wrong? What happened? Spencer, fill a girl in!"

He smiled. "Derek got into the three schools he applied to with scholarships."

Penelope clapped her hands together, squealing. "We did it!"

Spencer picked up one of the letters. "What's this mention of a video message they received with his application?"

"Oh, that? Just a video of his coming out speech from the pep rally."

Derek pulled back from his mother's hug. "My _what_?"

"What? They're always looking for passionate students, and that speech was Oscar-worthy. You're welcome."

Derek stared at the phone, at a loss for words, so Spencer picked it up. "I think the words the speechless one is looking for are 'thank you'."

She laughed. "You are ever so welcome. Now, if I'm not mistaken, a certain genius friend of mine was _also_ accepted to those three schools with scholarship offers?"

Spencer shook his head. "Penelope Garcia, you are a sneaky little genius."

"And _you_ are ever so welcome. I love making my boys happy. You two, enjoy, celebrate, stay virginal, and I'll see you tomorrow."

Spencer eyed Derek, blushing, before hanging up.

Fran opened the fridge. "Spencer, are you staying for dinner? We're celebrating with Derek's favorite."

He nodded slightly, turning to Derek. "Okay with you?"

Derek nodded. "More than okay with me." He closed up his textbooks, turning to Spencer. "Doctor Who?"

"Yes, please." He put the books into Derek's backpack and followed him to the living room, where Derek loaded it on Netflix.

* * *

**Spencer**

The two of them sat on the couch, watching the second series of Doctor Who. It was something that he'd gotten Derek into back when they were talking online. He told Derek that if he was a fan of sci-fi, he should look into it. Since then, it was a common topic of discussion for them.

While Derek stayed tuned in, Spencer was looking through the letters and biting his lip.

"What's bugging you?" Derek asked, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Nothing," Spencer said quickly, setting the letters down on the table.

"Nope, I'm not buying it." Derek looked at the letters then paused the TV, turning to Spencer. "What is it?"

"We got into the exact same schools, Derek. We both got acceptance letters from these three institutions. They want me for my academics, and they want you for your athletics. I don't want to do something that you wouldn't be comfortable with, so I want to leave the decision up to you."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "And what decision would that be?"

Spencer chewed on his cheek, sighing. "Would you want us to go to the same school? I completely understand if you wouldn't want to go _just_ because we're in a relationship, but I figured I would ask and have you make the final decision. If you don't want to go to the same college, just say the word and I'll send my acceptance to another school. But if you-" he was quickly silenced by Derek's lips pressed against his. He smiled slightly, pulling back. "I um, I was rambling, wasn't I?"

Derek nodded. "Just a bit."

"Well?"

"Well," Derek started, shifting in his seat, "we talked for over a year, we met, we were separated, a whole lot of unnecessary crap happened, we're reunited and happier than ever."

"...Yes, that's a basic summary?"

Derek smiled, lifting Spencer's chin. "And there's _no_ way you're getting rid of me that easily. Pick the school and that'll be ours. I can play sports anywhere. It's more about what _you_ want, because it's a place of academics after all."

Spencer sighed, looking through the letters. "Well, JJ, Emily, _and_ Penelope were all accepted here, and JJ got her soccer scholarship, and I know college is about new beginnings, but I'm comfortable with familiarity, and-" once again, he was cut off and he sighed, pulling back and pressing his forehead against Derek's. "Is this it?"

Derek nodded. "That's it."

Spencer grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that."

* * *

While eating dinner that night, Derek's mother couldn't stop gushing over the fact that her baby had been accepted to several colleges. His younger sister would roll her eyes every few minutes, but Derek would smirk, taking in all of the appreciation.

"So are you two going to be roommates?" Desiree asked, looking at the two of them.

Spencer cleared his throat. "Well, possibly? We could apply to be roommates and have it happen, but that all depends on what we choose to do. The odds of being roomed with someone you choose are-"

"None of your business," Derek told her, pointing his fork at her.

"That's a yes," she sing-songed.

"That's a mind your business."

"Enough," his mother said, pointing to the table, "eat."

It was a silent few minutes before she spoke up again. "So are you two going to prom together?"

Derek put his fork down on the table. "Really, Desi?"

"What, it's a good question!"

Derek exhaled, looking at her. "I _was_ going to ask him on our date Friday night. Thanks for blowing it."

She put her hands up. "I didn't know."

He sighed, turning to Spencer. "No pressure. I know how much it took you to go to the Halloween dance because you don't like social gatherings, but I think it'd be fun and-"

This time, it was Spencer's turn to cut him off with a kiss before blushing, pulling back and nodding at him. "Yes."

Derek grinned, turning to her. "That'd be a yes."

"What are the odds your school would give you two prom kings?"

"Depends on the votes, really," Spencer said. "Penelope said she'd get us on the ballot, so we'll see."

* * *

When Spencer left that night, Derek took his hand, squeezing it. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Helping me get into college? Making my math grades suck much less?"

Spencer smiled. "You did that yourself, but if you're going to credit me, you're welcome. So, what are we wearing to prom?"

"I think we'll figure that out when the time comes," Derek said, leaning in and kissing his cheek. "See you tomorrow?"

He nodded slightly and heard a car horn knocking. He groaned to himself. "That'll be JJ, insisting that I can't walk home four blocks."

"Don't want to keep her waiting," Derek said, giving him a quick kiss and smiling at his blush.

Spencer shook his head, walking to the car and getting in, setting his backpack on the floor in front of him.

"Good day?" JJ asked. "I didn't get any distress texts or anything, so I'm assuming everything went well."

He nodded. "Derek got into college. Specifically, _our_ college."

She squealed, hitting his arm. "You're going too?!"

He rubbed his arm. "Yes, I'm going too. No need for the violence!"

She pulled him into a hug. "It'll be great. Me, you, Derek, Will, Emily, Penelope… everyone we like in one place. You guys are rooming together, right?"

"I don't know. Now will you buckle your seatbelt and drive?"

She rolled her eyes, leaning over and buckling her seatbelt, starting the car. "_Fine_. Did you at least bring up prom?" she asked, pulling out of the parking spot.

He shook his head slightly. "No-"

"Spence, why not?!"

"Let me _finish_. I didn't, but he did, well his sister did, and we're going together. _Hands on the wheel_!" he snapped when he saw her reach out to ruffle his hair.

She groaned. "Fine."

* * *

When they arrived at his house, she got out, giving him a hug and kissing his cheek. "It's good to see you happy, Spence."

He smiled slightly. "It's good to _be_ happy," he admitted, not even ducking out of the way when she mussed up his hair. He patted his hair down. "So, I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early?"

She nodded. "You can get a prom ticket tomorrow morning. That is of course if your perfect gentleman of a date isn't buying one."

He shook his head. "Good night, JJ," he said, walking into his house.

He found his mother sitting up in her armchair with her reading lamp on, looking through some papers.

"Sorry I'm late. I had dinner at Derek's," he told her. "Is everything okay?"

She nodded, holding up the stack of papers. "Grading. It's downright awful how often I find my students plagiarizing from SparkNotes and other horrible sources. They don't even change the phrasing." She pointed a finger at him. "I ever find out you do that on anything involving school, I will hurt you."

"I definitely won't," he said, putting his hands up. He walked over, kissing her cheek. "Good night, mom."

She smiled at him. "Good night."

"Don't be up too late grading."

"I think I'll be turning in if I see one more line copied from a Wikipedia page," she told him.

He smiled, walking to his bedroom and setting his backpack down. His mother's doctor had found what had been the best combination of medications, and because of that, she was able to go back to teaching at her school, and what would soon be his school. She had forbidden him from taking her course, because she promised she would be extra tough on him. It was good to see his mother happy again, doing what she loved.

Over the next few months, Spencer's life seemed like a fairy tale. If you'd told him a year ago his life could be that way, he would've dismissed it and laughed. But now? He had a boyfriend. He had friends. He had his mother in good health. He had everything he could ever want out of life in such a short amount of time. He'd gone to prom not because he was dragged, but because he was invited. He spent the night with his friends and he even _danced_. Penelope had declared them honorary prom kings, and neither of them cared that they'd lost to Hotch and Haley. He'd been proud of JJ for being one of the princesses and watched her excitement as she was crowned. At graduation, he'd given a valedictorian speech to put all other speeches to shame, and in the fall, he'd be going off to college with his best friends and his _boyfriend_. It was almost too much to believe, but it all was really a dream come true.


End file.
